Caregiving touch has been shown to be essential for the growth and development of human infants. However, the physiological and behavioral mechanisms that underpin infants' sensitivity to pleasant touch are still poorly understood. In human adults, a subclass of unmyelinated peripheral nerve fibers has been shown to respond preferentially to medium-velocity soft brushing. It has been theorized that this privileged pathway for pleasant touch is used for close affiliative interactions with conspecific individuals, especially between caregivers and infants. To test whether human infants are sensitive to pleasant touch, we examined arousal (heart rate) and attentional engagement (gaze shifts and duration of looks) to varying velocities of brushing (slow, medium, and fast) in 9-month-old infants. Our results provide physiological and behavioral evidence that sensitivity to pleasant touch emerges early in development and therefore plays an important role in regulating human social interactions.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017181 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797614527114 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
In vivo calcium imaging reveals directional sensitivity of C-low threshold mechanoreceptors.
J Physiol
January 2025
School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
C-low threshold mechanoreceptors (C-LTMRs) in animals (termed C-tactile (CT) fibres in humans) are a subgroup of C-fibre primary afferents, which innervate hairy skin and respond to low-threshold punctate indentations and brush stimuli. These afferents respond to gentle touch stimuli and are implicated in mediating pleasant/affective touch. These afferents have traditionally been studied using low-throughput, technically challenging approaches, including microneurography in humans and teased fibre electrophysiology in other mammals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPredicting Sensory and Affective Tactile Perception from Physical Parameters Obtained by Using a Biomimetic Multimodal Tactile Sensor.
Sensors (Basel)
December 2024
Department of Applied Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biochemical Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, Yonezawa 992-8510, Yamagata, Japan.
Tactile perception plays a crucial role in the perception of products and consumer preferences. This perception process is structured in hierarchical layers comprising a sensory layer (soft and smooth) and an affective layer (comfort and luxury). In this study, we attempted to predict the evaluation score of sensory and affective tactile perceptions of materials using a biomimetic multimodal tactile sensor that mimics the active touch behavior of humans and measures physical parameters such as force, vibration, and temperature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSimulating the psychological and neural effects of affective touch with soft robotics: an experimental study.
Front Robot AI
November 2024
Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Human affective touch is known to be beneficial for social-emotional interactions and has a therapeutic effect. For touch initiated by robotic entities, richer affective affordance is a critical enabler to unlock its potential in social-emotional interactions and especially in care and therapeutic applications. Simulating the attributes of particular types of human affective touch to inform robotic touch design can be a beneficial step.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF"Oh, We Don't Want the Men Around." The Experience of Men in Nursing During Prelicensure Labor and Delivery Clinical Rotation.
Nurs Res Pract
December 2024
Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Curry College 1071 Blue Hill Ave, Milton 02186, Massachusetts, USA.
The nursing profession has traditionally been dominated by females, with male nurses comprising a small minority. The labor and delivery unit is one area of nursing that is particularly associated with female care providers. Male nursing students face unique challenges and experiences while completing their clinical rotations in this setting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCT-optimal touch modulates alcohol-cue-elicited heart rate variability in Alcohol Use Disorder patients during early abstinence: a randomized controlled study.
Alcohol
November 2024
Clinicum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. Electronic address:
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic brain disorder associated with a high risk of relapse and a limited treatment efficacy. Relapses may occur even after long periods of abstinence and are often triggered by stress or cue induced alcohol craving. C-tactile afferents (CT) are cutaneous nerve fibers postulated to encode pleasant affective touch and known to modulate physiological stress responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!