Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Sweden.
Neuroimage. 2012 Feb 15;59(4):3427-32. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.013. Epub 2011 Nov 10.
Touch massage (TM) is a form of pleasant touch stimulation used as treatment in clinical settings and found to improve well-being and decrease anxiety, stress, and pain. Emotional responses reported during and after TM have been studied, but the underlying mechanisms are still largely unexplored. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) to test the hypothesis that the combination of human touch (i.e. skin-to-skin contact) with movement is eliciting a specific response in brain areas coding for pleasant sensations. The design included four different touch conditions; human touch with or without movement and rubber glove with or without movement. Force (2.5 N) and velocity (1.5 cm/s) were held constant across conditions. The pleasantness of the four different touch stimulations was rated on a visual analog scale (VAS-scale) and human touch was rated as most pleasant, particularly in combination with movement. The fMRI results revealed that TM stimulation most strongly activated the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC). These results are consistent with findings showing pgACC activation during various rewarding pleasant stimulations. This area is also known to be activated by both opioid analgesia and placebo. Together with these prior results, our finding furthers the understanding of the basis for positive TM treatment effects.
触摸按摩（TM）是一种愉悦的触摸刺激形式，被用作临床治疗方法，已被证明可以改善幸福感，减轻焦虑、压力和疼痛。人们已经研究了在 TM 过程中和之后报告的情绪反应，但潜在的机制在很大程度上仍未得到探索。在这项研究中，我们使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）来测试以下假设，即人体触摸（即皮肤与皮肤接触）与运动的结合会在编码愉悦感的大脑区域中引发特定的反应。该设计包括四种不同的触摸条件：有或没有运动的人体触摸，以及有或没有运动的橡胶手套触摸。在所有条件下，力（2.5N）和速度（1.5cm/s）保持不变。四种不同触摸刺激的愉悦度在视觉模拟量表（VAS 量表）上进行评分，人体触摸被评为最愉悦，尤其是与运动相结合时。fMRI 结果显示，TM 刺激最强烈地激活了前扣带回皮质的前扣带前回（pgACC）。这些结果与在各种令人愉悦的刺激中激活 pgACC 的发现一致。该区域也已知会被阿片类药物镇痛和安慰剂激活。结合这些先前的结果，我们的发现进一步了解了 TM 治疗效果的基础。
