Target Training: a Technique for Assessing Self-regulation of Skin Temperature

The determination of the achievement of self-regulation of hand temperature can be difficult, even with adequate baseline and control procedures. Although bidirectional training is often mentioned as a technique for thorough learning and for a convincing demonstration of temperature control, patients are sometimes unwilling or unable to lower hand temperature volitionally. This case report describes a patient who, due to failure at lowering her hand temperature, developed the target training method to convince herself of her self-regulation skill. The method may be useful in both clinical and research settings.