Lloyd, DM, Mcglone, FP and Yosipovitch, G (2015) Somatosensory pleasure circuit: From skin to brain and back. Experimental Dermatology, 24 (5). pp. 321-324. ISSN 0906-6705
Abstract
The skin senses serve a discriminative function, allowing us to manipulate objects and detect touch and temperature, and an affective/emotional function, manifested as itch or pain when the skin is damaged. Two different classes of nerve fibre mediate these dissociable aspects of cutaneous somatosensation: (i) myelinated A-beta and A-delta afferents that provide rapid information about the location and physical characteristics of skin contact; and (ii) unmyelinated, slow-conducting C-fibre afferents that are typically associated with coding the emotional properties of pain and itch. However, recent research has identified a third class of C-fibre afferents that code for the pleasurable properties of touch - c-tactile afferents or CTs. Clinical application of treatments that target pleasant, CT-mediated touch (such as massage therapy) could, in the future, provide a complementary, non-pharmacological means of treating both the physical and psychological aspects of chronic skin conditions such as itch and eczema.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is the accepted version of the following article: Lloyd, DM, Mcglone, FP and Yosipovitch, G (2015) Somatosensory pleasure circuit: From skin to brain and back. Experimental Dermatology which has been accepted for publication in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/exd.12639 |
Keywords: | C-tactile fibres; Itch; Massage therapy; Pain; Pleasant touch |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 09 Apr 2015 12:52 |
Last Modified: | 17 Mar 2016 04:44 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/exd.12639 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/exd.12639 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:84387 |