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The mechanosensory neurons of touch and their mechanisms of activation

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Handler, Annie, Ginty, David D.·2021·Nature Reviews Neuroscience

Abstract

Our sense of touch emerges from an array of mechanosensory structures residing within the fabric of our skin. These tactile end organ structures convert innocuous forces acting on the skin into electrical signals that propagate to the CNS via the axons of low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs). Our rich capacity for tactile discrimination arises from the dissimilar intrinsic properties of the LTMR subtypes that innervate different regions of the skin and the structurally distinct end organ complexes with which they associate. These end organ structures comprise a range of non-neuronal cell types, which may themselves actively contribute to the transformation of tactile forces into neural impulses within the LTMR afferents. Although the mechanism and the site of transduction across end organs remain unclear, PIEZO2 has emerged as the principal mechanosensitive channel involved in light touch of the skin. Here we review the physiological properties of LTMR subtypes and discuss how features of their cutaneous end organ complexes shape subtype-specific tuning. Mammalian skin contains an array of specialized structures that transform mechanical forces into electrical signals. Handler and Ginty provide a comprehensive overview of the features of the skin’s mechanosensory end organs and the neurons with which they associate and consider how their diverse properties contribute to the sense of touch.

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Metadata

Authors
Handler, A., & Ginty, D. D.
Venue
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Published
2021-07-26
Volume
22
Issue
9
Pages
521-537
ISSN
  • 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-0048
OpenAlex
W3183975923
Cited by
437
References
159
FWCI
9.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The mechanosensory neurons of touch and their mechanisms of activation. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s41583-021-00489-x
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Handler, A., & Ginty, D. D. (2021). The mechanosensory neurons of touch and their mechanisms of activation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-021-00489-x

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