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The Effect Of Age On Neural Processing Of Pleasant Soft Touch Stimuli, April C. May, Jennifer L. Stewart, Susan F. Tapert, Martin P. Paulus
The Effect Of Age On Neural Processing Of Pleasant Soft Touch Stimuli, April C. May, Jennifer L. Stewart, Susan F. Tapert, Martin P. Paulus
Publications and Research
Tactile interactions with our environment stimulate afferent fibers within the skin, which deliver information about sensations of pain, texture, itch and other feelings to the brain as a comprehensive sense of self. These tactile interactions can stimulate brain regions involved in interoception and reward processing. This study examined subjective, behavioral, and neural processing as a function of age during stimulation of A-beta (Aβ) and C tactile (CT) afferents using a soft brush stroke task. 16 adolescents (ages 15–17), 22 young adults (ages 20–28), and 20 mature adults (ages 29–55) underwent a simple continuous performance task while periodically anticipating and experiencing …