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. 2019 Feb:35:28-35.
doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2018.06.002. Epub 2018 Jul 5.

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

L Pirazzoli  1 , S Lloyd-Fox  2 , R Braukmann  3 , M H Johnson  2 , T Gliga  2
Affiliations

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

L Pirazzoli et al. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2019 Feb.

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.

Keywords: Affective touch; IFG; Infants; STS; fNIRS.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a) Experimental design: the stroking was performed using a spoon or a hand; experimental and baseline periods were 10 s long. b) A schematic showing the location of the channels relative to the 10–20 coordinates.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A schematic view of the NIRS arrays showing HbO2 responses to the hand (top panel) and to the spoon (bottom panel). Channels marked in bright orange revealed a significant response in the 1–5 s time-window to the hand versus baseline. Channels marked in pale green revealed a significant response in the 5–9 s time-window to the spoon versus baseline.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Grand averages of haemodynamic time courses within channels that showed significant responses, and are centered within two key areas known to respond to affective touch: IFG (Ch. 3 left and Ch. 14 right) and pSTS-TPJ (Ch. 9 left and Ch. 20 right). Error bars represent standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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