A system of unmyelinated afferents for innocuous mechanoreception in the human skin

Vallbo, Å. B.; Olausson, Ha ̊kan; Wessberg, Johan; Norrsell, Ulf

doi:10.1016/0006-8993(93)90968-s

Cited by 223 publications

(187 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Such a result is further consistent with a hypothesis that low-threshold Ctactile (CT) mechanoreceptors are important in affective touch (Liu et al, 2007;Löken et al, 2009;McGlone et al, 2007;Reinisch & Tschachler, 2005;Vallbo et al, 1999;Vallbo et al, 1993;Wessberg et al, 2003), given that hairy skin (e.g., of the forearm) is innervated by such fibers, but glabrous skin (e.g., of the fingerpad) is not (Liu et al, 2007;Reinisch & Tschachler, 2005). However, stimulation of the glabrous fingerpad led to a greater emotional response than stimulation of either of the axillary sites, which suggests that the presence of CT afferents per se is not sufficient for stimulation of that site to elicit an especially high affective response.…”

Section: Effects Of Body Sitesupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In contrast, the forearm is less sensitive in this regard, but stimulation can evoke a large affective response (Essick et al, 2010;Guest et al, 2009;Löken, Wessberg, Morrison, McGlone, & Olausson, 2009). Hairy skin, such as that of the forearm, is innervated by low-threshold C-tactile (CT) mechanoreceptors that are important in conveying affective touch (Liu et al, 2007;Löken, et al, 2009;McGlone, Vallbo, Olausson, Loken, & Wessberg, 2007;Vallbo, Olausson, & Wessberg, 1999;Vallbo, Olausson, Wessberg, & Norrsell, 1993;Wessberg, Olausson, Fernström, & Vallbo, 2003). In contrast, glabrous skin (e.g., of the fingerpad) lacks CT afferents (Liu et al, 2007;Reinisch & Tschachler, 2005).…”

Section: Experiments Iii: Tactile Perception On the Upper Limbmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The development and validation of sensory and emotional scales of touch perception

Guest

Dessirier

Mehrabyan

et al. 2010

Atten Percept Psychophys

167

199

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No comprehensive language exists that describes the experience of touch. Three experiments were conducted to take steps toward establishing a touch lexicon. In Experiment I, 49 participants rated how well 262 adjectives described sensory, emotional and evaluative aspects of touch. In Experiment II, participants rated pairwise dissimilarities of the most descriptive words of the set. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) solutions representing semanticperceptual spaces underlying the words resulted in a touch perception task (TPT) consisting of 26 'sensory' attributes (e.g., bumpiness) and 14 'emotional' attributes (e.g., pleasurable). In Experiment III, 40 participants used the TPT to rate unseen textured materials that were moved actively or received passively against the index fingerpad, volar forearm, and two underarm sites. MDS confirmed similar semantic-perceptual structures in Experiments II and III. Factor analysis of Experiment III data decomposed the sensory attribute ratings into factors labeled Roughness, Slip, Pile and Firmness, and the emotional attribute ratings into Comfort and Arousal factors. Factor scores varied among materials and sites. Greater intensity of sensory and emotional responses were reported when participants passively, as opposed to actively, received stimuli. The sensitivity of the TPT in identifying body site and mode of touch-related perceptual differences affirms the validity and utility of this novel linguistic/perceptual tool.

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Section: Effects Of Body Sitesupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Experiments Iii: Tactile Perception On the Upper Limbmentioning

confidence: 99%

The development and validation of sensory and emotional scales of touch perception

Guest

Dessirier

Mehrabyan

et al. 2010

Atten Percept Psychophys

167

199

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Larger anisotropies across all body parts on the dorsal surface may be a consequence of the less precise discriminative capacity of hairy skin. This may explain the notably larger anisotropy found on the dorsal forearm, which has a similar physiological profile to that of the trunk (Vallbo, Olausson, Wessberg, & Norrsell, 1993) than even the hairy surface of the hand.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Categorical perception of tactile distance

2014

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“…These unmyelinated afferents, present only in hairy skin, are sensitive to light stroking of the skin. First characterised in detail in 1993 by Vallbo, Olausson, Wessberg and Norsell from the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Göteborg University, Sweden [19], and reviewed by this group in an upcoming issue of Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews [13], these authors suggested that C-tactile fibres subserve an affective component of touch, engaging areas of the brain involved in the processing of emotion rather than those comprising the discriminative somatosensory system. Indeed, studies in two patients lacking large-fibre sensory axons yet preserved small-fibre function reveal that their capacity to feel this light touch remains.…”

Section: That Touchy Feelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developments in autonomic research: a review of the latest literature

Macefield

2009

Clin Auton Res

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Small-diameter afferents do not just subserve pain and temperature sensibilities, important for protection of the body though they are: there is a system of lowthreshold unmyelinated afferents that respond to light stroking (C-tactile afferents) and they are believed to subserve the affective components of touch. Patients with large-fibre sensory neuropathies exhibit skin sympathetic responses to stroking, and report the stimuli as feeling pleasant. Moreover, the posterior insula is activated. Patients with small-diameter sensory neuropathies, specifically those with congenital insensitivity to pain, suffer from cumulative injuries that can lead to joint degeneration. There is evidence that the nociceptive (and sympathetic) axons die because nerve growth factor is not being produced by the target tissues; patients with congenital insensitivity to pain have mutations in the NTRK1 gene, the gene responsible for producing the TrkA receptor, but there is also evidence for mutations in the SCN9A gene, which codes for a specific subunit of the voltage-gated sodium channel. Specific mutations, leading to clusters of cases of congenital insensitivity to pain, have been found in several geographical locations, with several genetic mutations having been documented. Interestingly, even patients with congenital insensitivity to pain, despite having never experienced pain, can still empathise with the pain in others-we do not need to feel pain in order to empathise, but we do need to feel pain in order to ensure that our body looks after itself.

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A system of unmyelinated afferents for innocuous mechanoreception in the human skin

Cited by 223 publications

References 16 publications

The development and validation of sensory and emotional scales of touch perception

The development and validation of sensory and emotional scales of touch perception

Categorical perception of tactile distance

Developments in autonomic research: a review of the latest literature

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