The time is ripe to integrate burgeoning evidence of the important role of sensory and motor
functioning in mental health within the National Institute of Mental Health's [NIMH] Research …

The human skin is a highly specialized organ for receiving sensory information but also to
preserve the body's homeostasis. These functions are mediated by cutaneous small nerve …

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' …

C tactile fibers are a specialized group of fibers innervating the non-glabrous skin that are
tuned to light gentle stroking applied with velocities between 1 and 10 cm/s. Those fibers …

Caressing touch is an effective way to communicate emotions and to create social bonds. It
is also one of the key mediators of early parental bonding. The caresses are generally …

Pain is modulated by social context. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that romantic
partners can provide a potent form of social support during pain. However, such studies …

Avatars and social robots offer new opportunities for communication and raise questions
about how trust is built and maintained in hybrid social interactions. We wonder what kind of …

Growing interest in affective touch has delineated a neural network that bypasses primary
somatosensory cortex (S1). Several recent studies, however, have cast doubt on the …

Many studies have investigated the perception of tactile pleasantness over a range of
stroking velocities. On average, pleasantness is low at slow (eg 0.3 cm/s) and fast (eg 30 …

Affective touch supports affiliative bonds and social cognition. In particular, gentle, stroking
touch, which has recently been associated with the C Tactile (CT) system, is typically …