First, reprinting from a month ago:
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Yasuko has produced a huge number of tutorials using acupressure and similar methods to improve mood and health. This one turned out to be surprisingly effective:
Is C-Tactile proper science? Yes. Exactly.
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The human equivalent to the C-LTMRs are called C-tactile afferents. The C-tactile afferents, which exist exclusively in hairy skin, respond optimally to a slow, light stroking (1–10 cm/s) delivered at skin temperature. Stroking the skin at faster and slower velocities decreases the firing frequency. The characteristics of C-tactile optimal stroking correspond to a human-to-human caress, and the firing frequency is correlated with subjective ratings of perceived pleasantness. Taken together, the main role of these nerve fibers appears to be the moderation of the affective experience of touch.
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Other mammals use tongues instead of fingers, with the same calming effect. Note especially the moderation of the affective experience. When mammals don’t get the C-tactile experience, every touch is sharply perceived as a possible threat.
High-contact societies like Brazil and Africa are calmer and happier and less addictive because everyone is casually smoothing out everyone else’s threat response. Low-touch societies like US and Northern Europe are hypersensitive to everything, which is the way our rulers want us.
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Now a new study adds more knowledge about the C-Tactile system.
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They then decided to investigate how the hair follicle cells signalled to the sensory nerves. They adapted a technique known as fast scan cyclic voltammetry to analyse cells in culture and found that the hair follicle cells were releasing the neurotransmitters serotonin and histamine in response to touch.
When they blocked the receptor for these neurotransmitters on the sensory neurons, the neurons no longer responded to the hair follicle cell stimulation. They therefore concluded that in response to touch, hair follicle cells release neurotransmitters that activate nearby sensory neurons.
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This implies that the hairs are serving as advance warning systems, detecting an approaching contact before the surface of the skin, and preparing the surface to process the sensation. Serotonin may explain the moderation effect. Hairs are also our electrostatic sensors, so this could indicate a full-fledged sensory system for static fields. Antennas in both meanings of the word. Feelers and radar.
Speculative: The C-Tactile system resembles the electrostatic radio receiver in mud-dwelling fish, which also resembles the hair cells in the cochlea. Is C-Tactile the remnant of a full-fledged radio system for mammals? Do the more hairy mammals still use the system for its fishy purpose? Did humans develop spoken and written language as we lost body hair?
Follicles also have muscles to move the hairs around. We believe this action is mainly for temperature control, but it also responds to emotion. We believe that ‘raising the hackles’ is a visual signal. Is it really rotating the antennas for better communication? Literal radar?
Polistra's Mill 