Coding of pleasant touch by unmyelinated afferents in humans.
Pleasant touch sensations may begin with neural coding in the periphery by specific afferents. We found that during soft brush stroking, low-threshold unmyelinated mechanoreceptors (C-tactile), but not myelinated afferents, responded most vigorously at intermediate brushing velocities (1-10 cm s(-1)), which were perceived by subjects as being the most pleasant. Our results indicate that C-tactile afferents constitute a privileged peripheral pathway for pleasant tactile stimulation that is likely to signal affiliative social body contact.
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. line.loken@neuro.gu.se
Line S
LS
Löken
Johan
J
Wessberg
India
I
Morrison
Francis
F
McGlone
Håkan
H
Olausson
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D036421:Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated / Q000502:physiology*; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D012201:Reward; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation*; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D012919:Social Behavior; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*