The effect of ischemia on the sympathetic skin response has been evaluated in a group of healthy volunteers. Sympathetic skin response elicited by an electro-tactile stimulation has an afferent A beta fibre pathway and an efferent sympathetic postganglionic C fibre pathway. Even if 30' ischemia was able to block tactile sensory afferent (A beta fibres) the sympathetic skin response was still present, suggesting a concomitant activation of other levels of integration in the genesis of the sympathetic skin response.