title: Gentle touch activates the anterior prefrontal cortex: an NIRS study.
abstract: Gentle touching of the hand activates emotion- and reward-related regions of the brain. The present study investigated activation of the prefrontal cortex by gentle sweeps of the palm or forearm with three materials (wood, velvet, paintbrush) using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Sweeps of the left palm with a sensuous velvet fabric increased the oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration in the frontal-polar cortex (FPC) and a part of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), compared to a neutral touch produced by rounded wood. Pleasantness ratings were higher for the velvet than wood. In conclusion, the present study revealed the involvement of the FPC/OFC in pleasant emotion produced by gentle touch to the hand.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kida
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinohara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012201:Reward; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*