Coding of pleasant touch by unmyelinated afferents in humans.

Journal article

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.

Authors: Löken, L; Wessberg, J; Morrison, I; McGlone, F; Olausson, H

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Nature neuroscience
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 547-548
• Publication date: 2009-05-01
• DOI: 10.1038/nn.2312
• EISSN: 1546-1726
• ISSN: 1097-6256
• Language: English
• Keywords: Skin Physiological Phenomena; Reward; Skin; Humans; Affect; Electrophysiology; Touch; Action Potentials; Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated; Hair Follicle; Physical Stimulation; Cerebral Cortex; Perception; Afferent Pathways; Adaptation, Physiological; Mechanoreceptors; Mechanotransduction, Cellular; Sensory Receptor Cells; Social Behavior