Pleasantness Only?

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

When gently stroked with velocities between 0.1 and 30 cm/s, participants typically rate velocities around 3 cm/s as most pleasant, and the ratings follow an inverted u-shape. This pleasantness curve correlates often, but not always, with the firing rate of unmyelinated C-tactile (CT) afferents, leading to the notion that CT afferents code for the hedonic or emotional aspect of gentle touch. However, there is also evidence that CT firing does not necessarily equal pleasantness, and the range of attributes that CT afferents code for is not known. Here, participants were stroked with different velocities assumed to activate CT afferents to a different extent while they rated the touch on several sensory and emotional attributes. We expected an inverted u-shaped rating curve for pleasantness and other emotional attributes, but not for sensory attributes. Inverted u-shaped rating patterns were found for the emotional attributes "pleasant" and "not burdensome," but also for the sensory attribute "rough." CT-directed stimulation is thus not only experienced as hedonic. The sensations arising from CTs together with all other types of mechanoreceptors might be centrally integrated into a percept that represents those aspects which are most salient for the stimulation at hand.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)224-236
Number of pages13
JournalExperimental Psychology
Volume67
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2020
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC8820238
Scopus 85094827415

Keywords

Keywords

  • Adult, Emotions, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Physical Stimulation/methods, Touch Perception/physiology, Young Adult