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Review
. 2014 May 21;82(4):737-55.
doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.05.001.

Discriminative and affective touch: sensing and feeling

Francis McGlone  1 , Johan Wessberg  2 , Håkan Olausson  3
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Free article
Review

Discriminative and affective touch: sensing and feeling

Francis McGlone et al. Neuron. .
Free article

Abstract

The multimodal properties of the human somatosensory system continue to be unravelled. There is mounting evidence that one of these submodalities-touch-has another dimension, providing not only its well-recognized discriminative input to the brain, but also an affective input. It has long been recognized that touch plays an important role in many forms of social communication and a number of theories have been proposed to explain observations and beliefs about the "power of touch." Here, we propose that a class of low-threshold mechanosensitive C fibers that innervate the hairy skin represent the neurobiological substrate for the affective and rewarding properties of touch.

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