Multisensory contributions to affective touch

Just as for any other sensory system, researchers have long wanted to discriminate between the sensory discriminative and hedonic aspects of tactile perception. Supporting such a distinction, researchers have, in recent decades, uncovered the existence of a dedicated system of receptors in the hairy skin (C-Tactile, CT, afferents) that appear to be preferentially tuned to pleasant stroking (i.e. caressing) touch. No matter what kind of touch one...