Article
Behavioral Sciences
India Morrison
Summary: The role of CT afferents in affective touch is not necessarily distinct from discriminative touch in all levels of the nervous system. By considering the phylogenetic history of specialized afferent systems, discrepancies in evidence can be addressed. This perspective leads to the proposal of four body-behavior reference frames for understanding somatosensory-behavior relationships in the behaving human, showing that affective and discriminative functions can be dissociated without existing as discrete categories.
CURRENT OPINION IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Larissa L. Meijer, Zoe A. Schielen, Kim Y. van Ree, H. Chris Dijkerman
Summary: The study found that affective touch has a relieving effect on electrically induced itch, with the alleviation starting after 2 minutes of stroking and continuing to increase up to 6 minutes.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Victoria C. Tinker, Paula D. Trotter, Charlotte Krahe
Summary: Depression is associated with decreased pleasure in activities and withdrawal from social interactions. This study examined the relationship between depression severity, perceived pleasantness of observed social touch, and longing for touch. The results showed that greater depression severity is related to lower perceived pleasantness of touch, especially for non-optimal touch velocities. Touch longing is not associated with depression severity, but rather with reduced levels of current intimate touch.
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Tara Kidd, Shaunna L. Devine, Susannah C. Walker
Summary: This article reviews the association between stress and health and proposes social touch, specifically affective touch, as a crucial factor in understanding how close relationships contribute to stress and health. It provides empirical evidence on the importance of affective touch in the development of stress systems and social relationships.
HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Gianluca Cruciani, Pietro Zingaretti, Vittorio Lingiardi, Sergio De Filippis, Patrick Haggard, Grazia Fernanda Spitoni
Summary: This study found deficits in pain perception and tactile sensitivity in individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), but no differences in tactile acuity, cold pain thresholds, cold tolerance, or affective touch perception.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Annett Schirmer, Clare Cham, Zihao Zhao, Oscar Lai, Clive Lo, Ilona Croy
Summary: These two studies found that men and women have similar sensory pleasantness in touch, but differ in their preceding affective experiences and how they value touch at a higher-order social level. Women are more likely to express touch comfort with less familiar or unknown individuals, have a greater preference for touch with other women, and feel more comfortable giving and receiving touch to the forearm.
PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Benlong Liu, Lina Qiao, Kun Liu, Juan Liu, Tyler J. Piccinni-Ash, Zhou-Feng Chen
Summary: Pleasant touch provides emotional and psychological support, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study found that the lack of certain genes in mice leads to impairments in stress response and prosocial behaviors. Additionally, specific neurons were found to respond most strongly to gentle stroking and encode reward value.
Article
Neurosciences
Laura Crucianelli, Marie Chancel, H. Henrik Ehrsson
Summary: The relationship between tactile pleasantness and velocity follows a consistent pattern at individual level across different skin types and testing sessions. However, individual differences in interoceptive abilities and self-reported depression play a role.
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Annett Schirmer, Ilona Croy, Rochelle Ackerley
Summary: This article summarizes the research history of low-threshold C-fiber mechanoreceptors and the study of C-tactile (CT) afferents in human affective touch. It discusses the differentiation between affective touch and discriminative touch, challenges traditional views on the relation between CTs and affective touch, and speculates on the relevance of underappreciated aspects of CT signaling in human physical and emotional connections.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Paula D. Trotter, Sharon A. Smith, David J. Moore, Noreen O'Sullivan, Martyn M. McFarquhar, Francis P. McGlone, Susannah C. Walker
Summary: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of acutely lowering central serotonin levels on perceptions of affective touch. The results showed that after lowering serotonin levels, participants rated affective touch as more pleasant and had increased discrimination of specific velocities that target CT fibers. However, lowered serotonin levels had no effect on tactile or cold pain thresholds, but there was a trend for reduced tolerance to cold pain.
PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Andrew Marshall
Summary: Recent research suggests that affective touch is transmitted through C-tactile afferents in the spinal cord, requiring the brain to decode information from convergent inputs and distributed spinal pathways. However, significant disparities between humans and mice raise questions about inter-species translation and the nature of affective touch itself.
CURRENT OPINION IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Merle T. Fairhurst, Francis McGlone, Ilona Croy
Summary: This article examines affective touch mediated through CT afferents, emphasizing how gentle stroking activates the CT system to communicate signals for social exchange. It highlights the complete communication chain, including signal, receiver, sender, and dynamic interactions between agents.
CURRENT OPINION IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Laura K. Case, Nicholas Madian, Micaela McCall, Megan L. Bradson, Jaquette Liljencrantz, Benjamin Goldstein, Vincent J. Alasha, Marisa S. Zimmerman
Summary: Gentle stroking of the skin is a common social touch behavior that has positive affective consequences. The firing of unmyelinated C-tactile (CT) somatosensory afferents, which is strongly correlated with touch pleasantness, has been considered a social-affective sensory pathway. A recent study found that the contribution of mechanoreceptive A-fibers to touch pleasantness in humans without pain is unknown. In this study, the temporary elimination of A-fiber contribution to touch perception resulted in the nearly abolished perception of intensity and pleasantness of both gentle stroking and deep pressure.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Larisa Mayorova, Galina Portnova, Ivan Skorokhodov
Summary: Despite the importance of touch in social development and social interactions, little research has been done on the brain mechanisms underlying social touch processing. This study used fMRI to investigate the neural response to social and non-social leg touch. The results showed a widespread cortical response to touch on the foot sole, regardless of the type of stimulus. Stimulation of the hairy skin of the shin elicited a stronger response in certain brain regions.
Article
Neurosciences
Johanna Bendas, Anbjorn Ree, Luise Pabel, Uta Sailer, Ilona Croy
Summary: Stroking touch activates CT fibres in the skin, typically perceived as pleasant, but affective habituation sets in over time. While group-level effects of habituation were stable, less than half of participants showed a significant decrease in pleasantness on an individual level. Individual response patterns were variable and not explicitly associated with behavioral or physiological measures.
Review
Neurosciences
Leah M. Mayo, Christine A. Rabinak, Matthew N. Hill, Markus Heilig
Summary: The endocannabinoid system plays a crucial role in fear extinction and stress response, with potential therapeutic implications for conditions like PTSD. Both animal studies and emerging human data support the translation of findings, indicating a promising avenue for therapeutic interventions.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Steven J. Middleton, Irene Perini, Andreas C. Themistocleous, Greg A. Weir, Kirsty McCann, Allison M. Barry, Andrew Marshall, Michael Lee, Leah M. Mayo, Manon Bohic, Georgios Baskozos, India Morrison, Line S. Loken, Sarah McIntyre, Saad S. Nagi, Roland Staud, Isac Sehlstedt, Richard D. Johnson, Johan Wessberg, John N. Wood, Christopher G. Woods, Aziz Moqrich, Hakan Olausson, David L. Bennett
Summary: The study shows that Na(v)1.7 plays a crucial role in regulating C-low threshold mechanoreceptor function, cool sensitivity, and affective touch in addition to pain perception. Patients with loss-of-function mutations in Nav1.7 exhibit congenital insensitivity to pain and abnormalities in the encoding of affective touch. Overall, Na(v)1.7 is essential for normal C-LTMR function and pleasant touch perception.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Luke J. Ney, Kevin M. Crombie, Leah M. Mayo, Kim L. Felmingham, Tim Bowser, Allison Matthews
Summary: The endocannabinoid system plays an important role in PTSD, and researchers have successfully translated findings from animal studies to human subjects using modern paradigms and methods. This approach offers the potential to gain deeper insights into the impact of endocannabinoid signaling on stress response, emotional and intrusive memories, and fear extinction in PTSD.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Substance Abuse
Anna Parisi, Hannah Louise Landicho, Justin Hudak, Siri Leknes, Brett Froeliger, Eric L. Garland
Summary: Emotional distress and pain catastrophizing were found to predict cue-elicited craving and autonomic cue-reactivity among chronic pain patients receiving long-term opioid therapy. Pain severity did not have predictive power in this context. Furthermore, misuse status moderated the relationship between distress and self-reported craving.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Uta Sailer, Siri Leknes
Summary: The pleasantness of gentle stroking varies greatly between individuals and studies, indicating that there may be other relevant factors to consider. The affective value of a touch event is determined by how well its perceived purpose matches the goals of the touch receiver, which is influenced by sensory characteristics, setting, person factors, and the touchee's expectations.
CURRENT OPINION IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Charlotte Skoglund, Siri Leknes, Markus Heilig
Summary: This article discusses the significant improvement of impaired social cognition and function in autism spectrum disorder through the long-term low-dose administration of the partial mu-opioid agonist, buprenorphine. It suggests a role for endogenous opioid systems in social attachment and proposes the need for randomized controlled trials to further investigate these findings.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL CASE REPORTS
(2022)
Correction
Anesthesiology
Siri Leknes, Lauren Y. Atlas
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIA
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Martin Trostheim, Marie Eikemo, Jan Haaker, J. James Frost, Siri Leknes
Summary: This study provides a detailed analysis of central opioid receptor blockade after opioid antagonism based on positron emission tomography data. The results show that common doses of naloxone and naltrexone are sufficient to produce full blockade of central mu-opioid receptors. The study also presents models for estimating the receptor blockade and provides two web applications for experiment planning and evaluation.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Substance Abuse
Molly Carlyle, Malin Kvande, Isabell M. M. Meier, Martin Trostheim, Kaja Buen, Eira Nordeng Jensen, Gernot Ernst, Siri Leknes, Marie Eikemo
Summary: This study aimed to examine whether childhood adversity increases opioid reward during surgery. The results showed that childhood adversity did not have a significant effect on drug-induced feelings of pleasure, but it was negatively associated with drug liking. Exploratory analysis suggested a potential nonlinear relationship between childhood adversity and positive opioid effects. Future research should investigate the link between childhood adversity, subjective effects, and opioid use after surgery.
ADDICTION RESEARCH & THEORY
(2023)
Article
Anesthesiology
M. Eikemo, I. M. Meier, G. E. Loseth, M. Trostheim, N. Orstavik, E. N. Jensen, E. L. Garland, C. Berna, G. Ernst, S. Leknes
Summary: Exposure to opioid analgesics during surgery increases the risk of new persistent opioid use. The belief that acute opioid treatment improves well-being and relieves anxiety is not consistently supported by laboratory studies of non-opioid users. This observational study found that opioid-induced improvement of well-being is infrequent in opioid-naive patients.
Article
Anesthesiology
Isabell M. Meier, Marie Eikemo, Martin Trostheim, Kaja Buen, Eira Jensen, Siri Gurandsrud Karlsen, Silje E. Reme, Chantal Berna, Siri Leknes, Gernot Ernst
Summary: This study conducted in a Norwegian hospital observed 270 outpatient surgery patients and found that only 35% of them took pain relief medication at home 1-2 days after discharge. The use of pain relief medication was associated with factors such as chronic pain, pre- and post-surgical pain severity, and the ability to cope with pain. However, the low levels of postoperative pain did not lead to widespread chronic opioid use.
REGIONAL ANESTHESIA AND PAIN MEDICINE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Psychology, Clinical
Sarah Kratina, Leah M. Mayo
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Neurosciences
Connor Haggarty, Madeleine Jones, India Morrison, Markus Heilig, Leah Mayo
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Neurosciences
Anya Bershad, Leah Mayo, Harriet de Wit
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Martin Trostheim, Marie Eikemo, Jan Haaker, J. James Frost, Siri Leknes
Summary: This study provides a detailed analysis of central opioid receptor blockade using existing positron emission tomography data. The researchers create models for estimating opioid receptor blockade with naloxone and naltrexone, and find that commonly used doses of these drugs are more than sufficient to produce full blockade of central mu-opioid receptors. They also develop web applications to help plan and evaluate experiments with opioid antagonists.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Psychology, Biological
Robert W. Levenson
Summary: This article describes the development of paradigms for studying dyadic interaction in the laboratory, methods, and analytics for dealing with dyadic data. It provides research findings from the author and others, with a particular focus on dyadic measures of linkage or synchrony in physiology, expressive behavior, and subjective affective experience.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Thomas M. Olino, Matthew Mattoni
Summary: This study examined brain function in offspring of mothers with and without depression using monetary and social reward tasks. The results showed no significant differences in task activation and functional connectivity between the two groups. The study discussed the possibility of developmental timing in finding differences.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
(2024)
