Psychophysiology and motivated emotion: testing the affective touch hypothesis of C-tactile afferent function

The affective touch hypothesis posits a class of unmyelinated, low threshold mechanoreceptors form distinct channel signaling the dimension touch. preferred stimulus these CT afferents is force and velocity, skin temperature stroke, typical caress. A growing body research has utilized psychophysiological techniques to study implicit effects targeted Here we consider that literature in context an established, comparative model motivated emotion. Consistent with their hypothesized social-affective function, preliminary evidence indicates positive value, lowers arousal modulates neural responses concurrently experienced cues. We propose grounded motivational theories emotion adds unique value exploration hypothesis.