Nerdy Science Blog

Ever heard pick-up gurus always tell people try to make skin contact?  They claimed skin contact can create a special attachment between the target and you.  Researchers at Sahlgrenska Acamedy, Sweden, proves the pick-up artists are correct.

Researchers discovered that there are specialized nerve fibres in the skin for skin stroking, called CT nerves or C-tactile, which have direct route to the brain. Line Löken, a postgraduate student in neurophysiology at Sahlgrenska Acamedy said that the skin stroking impulses can travel to the brain that plays a role in emergence of feelings directly without any obstacle.  They even found that when pain and skin stroking were introduced at the same place, the stroking impulses actually halted the pain impulses.

According to Associate Professor Håkan Olausson, researchers used a technique call microneurography to detect the signals.  They insert a thin electrode into a nerve in the forearms to detect the impulses.  The researchers then use a robot that brush the same square centimetres area of skin to determine which nerve fibre is responsible for the pleasant or unpleasant feeling.  Researcher Johan Wessberg said that they found CT nerves are the one that responsible for the pleasant touch sensation.

The paper is published in April issue of Nature Neuroscience.  The authors include Line S Löken, Johan Wessberg, India Morrison, Francis McGlone, and Håkan Olausson

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DNA’s function is not fixed as previously thought.  The interaction of environment and DNA will define its function.  In a study involves 36 brains, scientists from McGill University and Douglas Institute found that maternal care affects the function of the genes.  The subjects included 12 suicide victims with abuse history, 12 suicide victims without abuse history, and 12 controls.  Epigenetic markings in the brains of the abused group were different from other group.  Abused group had its DNA altered and influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function.  HPA is a stress-response that will increase the risk of suicide.  Same results were shown in rats.

Do you see a connection between child abuse and attempted suicide?  I guess Harry Potter got his genes altered at his uncle’s house.

The study was published in February 22 Nature Neuroscience.  Authors included Patrick O McGowan, Aya Sasaki, Ana C D’Alessio, Sergiy Dymov, Benoit Labonté, Moshe Szyf, Gustavo Turecki, and Michael J Meaney.  The study was supported from by grants from the US National Institutes of Health, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Human Frontiers Science Program, and a Maternal Adversity.

Reference:

McGowan, P.O., Sasaki, A., D’Alessio, A.C., Dymov, S., Labonté, B., Szyf, M., Turecki, G. and Meaney, M.J. (2009), Epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor in human brain associates with childhood abuse, Nature Neuroscience, doi:10.1038/nn.2270.

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