Physiology & behavior
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Physiology & behavior · Mar 2018
Visual and physical affective touch delivered by a rotary tactile stimulation device: A human psychophysical study.
The discovery that pleasant touch is coded by C-tactile fibers has generated considerable research interest and increased understanding of the skin as a channel for social information via cutaneous senses. However, no study has differentiated between the pleasant response to visual and tactile non-human stimulations. Our study investigated pleasant touch in which the visual and haptic touch information was obtained from an affective, but non-social experience, by a custom-built non-human device. ⋯ The pleasantness rating patterns differed significantly among velocities; however, no significant differences were found between modalities. Visual and physical (without human-to-human interaction) touch elicited similar behavioral responses, including an inverted U-shaped perception of pleasantness. These findings suggest that the pleasantness of touch is influenced by the velocity of the strokes in both visual and physical touch with a non-human stimulation.
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Physiology & behavior · Nov 2017
Controlled Clinical TrialEffect of meal glycemic load and caffeine consumption on prolonged monotonous driving performance.
Monotonous driving involves low levels of stimulation and high levels of repetition and is essentially an exercise in sustained attention and vigilance. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of consuming a high or low glycemic load meal on prolonged monotonous driving performance. The effect of consuming caffeine with a high glycemic load meal was also examined. ⋯ Altering the glycemic load of a breakfast meal had no effect on measures of monotonous driving performance in non-diabetic adults. Individuals planning to undertake a prolonged monotonous drive following consumption of a morning meal may consider consuming caffeine as a means of improving vehicle control.
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Physiology & behavior · Oct 2017
Temperament as a modulating factor of pain sensitivity in combat sport athletes.
The aim of this study was to characterise the temperament of combat athletes in comparison to that of individuals who do not practise any sports with regard to pain sensitivity measured with the cold pressor test (CPT) and pressure pain threshold (PPT). The study involved 284 healthy men, aged 18 to 43years. The first group consisted of 198 combat athletes, including boxing (n=19), mixed martial arts (MMA) (n=97) and karate (n=82), aged from 18 to 43years. ⋯ These differences indicate individual differences in perception and reaction to external stimuli. Significantly higher pain tolerance (CPT and PPT) in the athletes studied was related to specific psychological features. The obtained results of temperamental characteristics may indicate higher resilience of the nervous system in combat athletes in comparison to non-athletes.
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Physiology & behavior · Aug 2017
Assessing the exploratory and anxiety-related behaviors of mice. Do different caging systems affect the outcome of behavioral tests?
Ample studies have shown that housing can affect the health, welfare and behavior of mice and therefore, the outcomes of certain experiments. The aim of this study was to investigate if three widely used housing systems, Open Top Cages (OTC), Motor Free Ventilated Cages (MFVC) and Individually Ventilated Cages (IVC) may affect exploratory and anxiety-related behaviors in mice. Subjects were 8week-old male C57Bl/6J mice (n=36) divided into three groups, OTC, IVC and MFVC groups, respectively. ⋯ Although there were no differences in the open field test, the results from the elevated plus maze showed that animals housed in the MFVCs exhibited increased exploratory and less anxiety-like behavior. It is concluded that the different caging systems may have an impact on the outcome of behavioral tests used to assess exploratory and anxiety like behavior in mice. Therefore, it is essential to take into consideration housing conditions when reporting, analyzing, and/or systematically reviewing the results of behavioral testing in mice.
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Physiology & behavior · Aug 2017
Touch between romantic partners: Being stroked is more pleasant than stroking and decelerates heart rate.
Touch has been found to entail positive effects in the person receiving it, whereas effects on the person giving touch have previously been unexplored. We investigated whether stroking the partner also is a pleasant experience for the person performing it, and whether it has similar effects on well-being and autonomic nervous function as being stroked or stroking oneself. Furthermore, we compared the hedonic and autonomic nervous effects of stroking the partner and self-stroking. ⋯ The data demonstrated a role for affective touch in the regulation of heart rate when being stroked. The absence of autonomic effects when providing the stroking may be due to the absence of visual feedback from the person being stroked. The high pleasantness of giving and receiving touch may foster affective tactile interactions among romantic partners, thus reinforcing the relationship.