Soft touch gone awry in autism

摘要

Nerves in the skin that respond to gentle touch may go awry in disorders such as autism say researchers in Liverpool. Using a range of scientific techniques, researchers from Liverpool John Moores Uni- versity are beginning to characterise these nerves and to describe to role they play in our lives. They believe that the nerves that respond to gentle touch called c-tactile afferents (CTs) are similar to those that detect pain but serve an opposite function - they relay events that are neither threatening nor tissue-damaging but are instead rewarding and pleasant.