Abstract
Affective touch sensation is conducted by a sub-class of C-fibres in hairy skin known as C-Tactile (CT) afferents. CT afferents respond maximally to gentle skin stroking at velocities between 1 and 10 cm/s. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by markedly reduced cutaneous C-fibres. It is not known if affective touch perception is influenced by C-fibre density and if affective touch is impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. We predicted that perceived pleasantness to gentle stroking in PD would correlate with C-afferent density and that affective touch perception would be impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. Twenty-four PD patients and 27 control subjects rated the pleasantness of brush stroking at an optimum CT stimulation velocity (3 cm/s) and two sub-optimal velocities (0.3 and 30 cm/s). PD patients underwent quantification of C-fibre density using skin biopsies and corneal confocal microscopy. All participants rated a stroking velocity of 3 cm/s as the most pleasant with significantly lower ratings for 0.3 and 30 cm/s. There was a significant positive correlation between C-fibre density and pleasantness ratings at 3 and 30 cm/s but not 0.3 cm/s. Mean pleasantness ratings were consistently higher in PD patients compared to control subjects across all three velocities. This study shows that perceived pleasantness to gentle touch correlates significantly with C-fibre density in PD. The higher perceived pleasantness in PD patients compared to controls suggests central sensitisation to peripheral inputs, which may have been enhanced by dopamine therapy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 232-237 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | European Journal of Neuroscience |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- C-tactile afferent
- cornea
- hedonic
- pain
- skin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)
Cite this
The perception of affective touch in Parkinson's disease and its relation to small fibre neuropathy. / Kass-Iliyya, Lewis; Leung, Matthew; Marshall, Andrew; Trotter, Paula; Kobylecki, Christopher; Walker, Susannah; Gosal, David; Jeziorska, Maria; Malik, Rayaz; McGlone, Francis; Silverdale, Monty A.
In: European Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 45, No. 2, 01.01.2017, p. 232-237.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The perception of affective touch in Parkinson's disease and its relation to small fibre neuropathy
AU - Kass-Iliyya, Lewis
AU - Leung, Matthew
AU - Marshall, Andrew
AU - Trotter, Paula
AU - Kobylecki, Christopher
AU - Walker, Susannah
AU - Gosal, David
AU - Jeziorska, Maria
AU - Malik, Rayaz
AU - McGlone, Francis
AU - Silverdale, Monty A.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Affective touch sensation is conducted by a sub-class of C-fibres in hairy skin known as C-Tactile (CT) afferents. CT afferents respond maximally to gentle skin stroking at velocities between 1 and 10 cm/s. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by markedly reduced cutaneous C-fibres. It is not known if affective touch perception is influenced by C-fibre density and if affective touch is impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. We predicted that perceived pleasantness to gentle stroking in PD would correlate with C-afferent density and that affective touch perception would be impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. Twenty-four PD patients and 27 control subjects rated the pleasantness of brush stroking at an optimum CT stimulation velocity (3 cm/s) and two sub-optimal velocities (0.3 and 30 cm/s). PD patients underwent quantification of C-fibre density using skin biopsies and corneal confocal microscopy. All participants rated a stroking velocity of 3 cm/s as the most pleasant with significantly lower ratings for 0.3 and 30 cm/s. There was a significant positive correlation between C-fibre density and pleasantness ratings at 3 and 30 cm/s but not 0.3 cm/s. Mean pleasantness ratings were consistently higher in PD patients compared to control subjects across all three velocities. This study shows that perceived pleasantness to gentle touch correlates significantly with C-fibre density in PD. The higher perceived pleasantness in PD patients compared to controls suggests central sensitisation to peripheral inputs, which may have been enhanced by dopamine therapy.
AB - Affective touch sensation is conducted by a sub-class of C-fibres in hairy skin known as C-Tactile (CT) afferents. CT afferents respond maximally to gentle skin stroking at velocities between 1 and 10 cm/s. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by markedly reduced cutaneous C-fibres. It is not known if affective touch perception is influenced by C-fibre density and if affective touch is impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. We predicted that perceived pleasantness to gentle stroking in PD would correlate with C-afferent density and that affective touch perception would be impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. Twenty-four PD patients and 27 control subjects rated the pleasantness of brush stroking at an optimum CT stimulation velocity (3 cm/s) and two sub-optimal velocities (0.3 and 30 cm/s). PD patients underwent quantification of C-fibre density using skin biopsies and corneal confocal microscopy. All participants rated a stroking velocity of 3 cm/s as the most pleasant with significantly lower ratings for 0.3 and 30 cm/s. There was a significant positive correlation between C-fibre density and pleasantness ratings at 3 and 30 cm/s but not 0.3 cm/s. Mean pleasantness ratings were consistently higher in PD patients compared to control subjects across all three velocities. This study shows that perceived pleasantness to gentle touch correlates significantly with C-fibre density in PD. The higher perceived pleasantness in PD patients compared to controls suggests central sensitisation to peripheral inputs, which may have been enhanced by dopamine therapy.
KW - C-tactile afferent
KW - cornea
KW - hedonic
KW - pain
KW - skin
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006310585&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85006310585&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/ejn.13481
DO - 10.1111/ejn.13481
M3 - Article
VL - 45
SP - 232
EP - 237
JO - European Journal of Neuroscience
JF - European Journal of Neuroscience
SN - 0953-816X
IS - 2
ER -