Heightened maternal stress during pregnancy is associated with atypical brain development
and an elevated risk for psychopathology in offspring. Supportive environments during early …

Oxytocin is a reproductive hormone implicated in the process of parturition and widely used
during labor. Oxytocin is produced within the supraoptic nucleus and paraventricular …

It is no secret that rates of anxiety and depression among school-aged children and teens in
the US are at an alltime high. Recognizing this, the American Academy of Pediatrics …

Background Enactivism and active inference are two important concepts in the field of
osteopathy. While enactivism emphasizes the role of the body and the environment in …

Study of the tactile sense has revealed an intriguing C low threshold mechanoreceptor that
the human literature refers to as a C-tactile (CT) afferent. Its firing properties imply a role in …

Here we asked whether, similar to visual and auditory event-related potentials (ERPs),
somatosensory ERPs reflect affect. Participants were stroked on hairy or glabrous skin at five …

Touch offers important non-verbal possibilities for socioaffective communication. Yet most
digital communications lack capabilities regarding exchanging affective tactile messages …

A series of studies have shown that mothers' early tactile behaviors have positive effects,
both on full-term and preterm infants, and on mothers alike. Regarding fathers, research has …

Very preterm (VPT) infants requiring hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
(NICU) are exposed to several stressful procedural experiences. One consequence of NICU …

Affective touch is a crucial component of caregiving in early life and constitutes a key factor
with a significant impact on infant later-life outcomes. The Parent-Infant Caregiving Touch …