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Dernière publication 13/08/2026

Marked C-tactile afferent suppression by a plastic film does not proportionately

We have previously shown that applying a thin elastic plastic film to the skin alters the perceptual qualities of brush stroking: gentle stroking...

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    [title] => Marked C-tactile afferent suppression by a plastic film does not proportionately
    [paragraph] => Marked C-tactile afferent suppression by a plastic film does not proportionately diminish pleasantness of gentle brushing
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Authors
Johan Nikesjö, Saad S. Nagi, Ewa Jarocka, Kevin K. W. Ng, Maja Fältskytt, Andrew Marshall, Sarah McIntyre, Gregory J. Gerling, Håkan Olausson

Lab
Journal
The Journal of Physiology
Abstract
We have previously shown that applying a thin elastic plastic film to the skin alters the perceptual qualities of brush stroking: gentle stroking with a soft brush is experienced as less pleasant, whereas stroking with a rough brush is experienced as less unpleasant (Rezaei et al.,2021). To our knowledge, no studies have examined how touch-transparency affects tactile response properties of different classes of cutaneous tactile afferents and how this relates to changes in touch sensation. The peripheral nervous system contains several classes of mechanosensitive afferents that convey information about mechanical stimulation of the skin (Yu et al.,2024). These mechanoreceptive afferents can be classified by their physiological characteristics such as conduction velocity, adaptation properties, mechanical threshold and their response profiles to different stimuli (Vallbo & Johansson,1984). The distribution of different mechanosensitive afferents differs between body sites and between glabrous and hairy skin (Vallbo et al.,1995). Low-threshold myelinated Aβ mechanoreceptors (A-LTMRs) have response properties that are well-suited for discriminative touch functions (locating and identifying tactile stimuli) and are classically divided by their rapid or slow adaptation to prolonged mechanical indentation (Jarocka et al.,2021; Johansson,1978; Vallbo & Johansson,1984; Willemet et al.,2025). A-LTMRs in hairy skin include rapidly adapting hair follicle afferents (HFA), field afferents (Field), and Pacinian corpuscle afferents (PC), as well as slowly adapting type 1 (SA1) and type 2 (SA2) afferents (Nagi et al.,2019; Vallbo et al.,1995). Another tactile afferent class is the low-threshold mechanosensitive C-fibre, referred to as C-LTMRs or C-tactile (CT) afferents. CTs are abundant in hairy skin, and in microneurography they are more frequently encountered in the arm compared to the leg (Edin,2001; Löken et al.,2022; Vallbo et al.,1999). CT afferents seem to convey little information relevant to discriminative touch and are instead often associated with affective aspects, such as the perception of pleasantness (Vallbo et al.,2009). Supporting this, gentle brushing across the skin at intermediate velocities (1–10 cm/s) elicits stronger CT responses than slower or faster strokes, and these same velocities are also rated as more pleasant (Löken et al.,2009). The relationship between CT activation and brushing velocity forms an inverted U-shape profile (Ackerley et al.2014; Löken et al.2009). In contrast, A-LTMR responses to gentle brush stimulation increase linearly, with firing frequency scaling proportionally across velocities from 0.3 to 30 cm/s (Löken et al.,2009). However, more recent evidence suggests that myelinated low-threshold afferents also play an important role in shaping the sensation of affective touch (Case et al.,2023; Xu et al.,2025).
Keywords/Topics
A-LTMR afferents; C-tactile afferents; tactile processing
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