Hand or spoon? Exploring the neural basis of affective touch in 5-month-old infants

Pirazzoli, L, Lloyd-Fox, S, Braukmann, R, Johnson, M H and Gliga, T (2019) Hand or spoon? Exploring the neural basis of affective touch in 5-month-old infants. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 35. pp. 28-35. ISSN 1878-9293

Preview

PDF (Hand_or_Spoon) Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (808kB) | Preview

Abstract

In adults, affective touch leads to widespread activation of cortical areas including posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus (pSTS) and Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG). Using functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), we asked whether similar areas are activated in 5-month-old infants, by comparing affective to non-affective touch. We contrasted a human touch stroke to strokes performed with a cold metallic spoon. The hypothesis that adult-like activation of cortical areas would be seen only in response to the human touch stroke was not confirmed. Similar patterns of activation were seen in both conditions. We conclude that either the posterior STS and IFG have not yet developed selective responses to affective touch, or that additional social cues are needed to be able to identify this type of touch.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	11 Oct 2018 16:30
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2022 20:31
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/68459
DOI:	10.1016/j.dcn.2018.06.002

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item