The DOI matches its Crossref record; 81 of the 83 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Autistic traits are associated with diminished neural response to affective touch
Open accessAbstract
'Social brain' circuitry has recently been implicated in processing slow, gentle touch targeting a class of slow-conducting, unmyelinated nerves, CT afferents, which are present only in the hairy skin of mammals. Given the importance of such 'affective touch' in social relationships, the current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study aimed to replicate the finding of 'social brain' involvement in processing CT-targeted touch and to examine the relationship between the neural response and individuals' social abilities. During an fMRI scan, 19 healthy adults received alternating blocks of slow (CT-optimal) and fast (non-optimal) brushing to the forearm. Relative to fast touch, the slow touch activated contralateral insula, superior temporal sulcus (STS), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and amygdala. Connectivity analyses revealed co-activation of the mPFC, insula and amygdala during slow touch. Additionally, participants' autistic traits negatively correlated with the response to slow touch in the OFC and STS. The current study replicates and extends findings of the involvement of a network of 'social brain' regions in processing CT-targeted affective touch, emphasizing the multimodal nature of this system. Variability in the brain response to such touch illustrates a tight coupling of social behavior and social brain function in typical adults.
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“Thus, the observed pattern of results has been interpreted as indicating an OXTinduced self-referential processing bias that could explain the increased pleasantness in an already pleasant context and a diminished effect for participants with high autistic-like traits who experience social touch as less pleasant (115).”
From Dissecting the Role of Oxytocin in the Formation and Loss of Social Relationships (2016) · cites this paper as [115]
In the citing paper
“Likewise, healthy subjects with autistic traits exhibit diminished responses in the neural substrates for social touch, particularly in the OFC (Voos et al, 2013).”
From An oxytocin-induced facilitation of neural and emotional responses to social touch correlates inversely with autism traits (2014) · cites this paper as Voos et al, 2013
In the citing paper
“Diminished OFC activation in response to touch in healthy adults with higher autistic traits has been reported previously”
From An oxytocin-induced facilitation of neural and emotional responses to social touch correlates inversely with autism traits (2014) · cites this paper as Voos et al, 2013
In the citing paper
“For example, Voos et al (2013) brushed the right forearm instead of both legs, they did not instruct their subjects to rate the pleasantness of each trial in the scanner and, perhaps most importantly, more than half of their subjects were female.”
From An oxytocin-induced facilitation of neural and emotional responses to social touch correlates inversely with autism traits (2014) · cites this paper as Voos et al, 2013
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Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 83 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
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Altérations sexe-dépendantes de la nociception dans un modèle d’autisme induit par le valproate
Glaunec, L. R. (2023) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/3d445796ze7caz426ezaafaza54d2130e2a3
Parents' attitudes toward affective tactile contact with a child with autism spectrum disorder
Nikolaeva, E. I., & Александровна, Д. Е. (2026) · Social Sciences and Childhood · doi:10.17759/ssc.2026070101
Von Körperschema bis Co-Regulation
Böhme, R. (2026) · Nervenheilkunde · doi:10.1055/a-2839-1429
Świdrak, J., Sun, W., Ekin, P., & Fairhurst, M. T. (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-026-64569-7
Zhou, Y., He, Y., Dan, M., Jia, L., Guo, K., Fang, Y., Hu, L., Yu, X., Wang, J., Xing, D., et al. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.09.01.748311
Metadata
- Authors
- Voos, A. C., Pelphrey, K. A., & Kaiser, M. D.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- ORCID
- Pelphrey, Kevin A.
- Venue
- Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2012-03-05
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 378-386
- ISSN
- 1749-5016 (ISSN-L)
- 1749-5024
- PMC
- PMC3624948
- OpenAlex
- W2157242456
- Cited by
- 205
- References
- 83
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 4.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Yale University
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH084080, P50MH081756, K01MH071284, L40 MH071890)
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R56NS035193, R01NS035193)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Keywords
- autistic traits, affective touch, social brain, insula, superior temporal sulcus, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, neural response variability, social behavior
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Autistic Disorder, Brain, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neurons, Physical Stimulation, Skin, Social Behavior, Touch, Touch Perception, Young Adult
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