Cited by 140Tactile and Sensory InteractionsPain Management and Placebo EffectPain Mechanisms and Treatments

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Pleasant human touch is represented in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex

Lindgren, Lenita, Westling, Göran, Brulin, Christine, Lehtipalo, Stefan, Andersson, Micael, Nyberg, Lars·2012·NeuroImage

DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.013

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Abstract

Touch massage (TM) is a form of pleasant touch stimulation used as treatment in clinical settings and found to improve well-being and decrease anxiety, stress, and pain. Emotional responses reported during and after TM have been studied, but the underlying mechanisms are still largely unexplored. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) to test the hypothesis that the combination of human touch (i.e. skin-to-skin contact) with movement is eliciting a specific response in brain areas coding for pleasant sensations. The design included four different touch conditions; human touch with or without movement and rubber glove with or without movement. Force (2.5 N) and velocity (1.5 cm/s) were held constant across conditions. The pleasantness of the four different touch stimulations was rated on a visual analog scale (VAS-scale) and human touch was rated as most pleasant, particularly in combination with movement. The fMRI results revealed that TM stimulation most strongly activated the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC). These results are consistent with findings showing pgACC activation during various rewarding pleasant stimulations. This area is also known to be activated by both opioid analgesia and placebo. Together with these prior results, our finding furthers the understanding of the basis for positive TM treatment effects.

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Authors: Lindgren, L., Westling, G., Brulin, C., Lehtipalo, S., Andersson, M., & Nyberg, L.
Affiliations: University Hospital of Umeå (SE)
Umeå University (SE)
Corresponding author: Lindgren, Lenita
ORCID: Lindgren, Lenita
Andersson, Micael
Nyberg, Lars
Venue: NeuroImage
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2012-02
Volume: 59
Issue: 4
Pages: 3427-3432
ISSN: 1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.013
OpenAlex: W2069561524
Cited by: 140
References: 36
Citations by year: 2026: 8 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 4
FWCI: 3.73
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research
Umeå University, Sweden
Swedish Research Council
The Strategic Research Program in Neuroscience at Umeå University and Karoliska Institutet
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Pain Management and Placebo Effect
Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Pain Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords: human touch, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, skin-to-skin contact, reward processing, placebo analgesia, opioid analgesia, analgesia, well-being
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adult, Brain Mapping, Female, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Touch Perception, Young Adult, Pleasure

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Pleasant human touch is represented in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex

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