ArticlePloS one2018
Brain activity in response to the touch of a hand on the center of the back.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Do Audible Sounds During a Metacarpophalangeal and Metatarsophalangeal Thrust Manipulation Have an Impact on Intra-Articular Joint Space and Brainwave Activity?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Could the Suboccipital Release Technique Result in a Generalized Relaxation and Self-Perceived Improvement? A Repeated Measure Study Design.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Do Audible Sounds during a Lumbar Spine Thrust Manipulation Have an Impact on Brainwave Activity?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to validate the possibility of using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure changes in cerebral blood flow in response to a hand being placed on a participant's back, and to identify the areas of enhanced activity in the brain. Nineteen female adult volunteers participated in the study. An experienced school nurse touched the center of the participant's back between the shoulder blades with the palm of her hand. Cerebral blood volume dynamics were measured with a 52-channel fNIRS system. Significantly higher oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration levels were recorded by channels 11, 14, 21, 22, 24, 32, 35, 45, 46, and 49 during the touching period than during the resting period. These channels indicated enhanced activity in the supramarginal gyrus, the middle frontal gyrus, the superior temporal gyrus, and the inferior frontal gyrus. The ability to detect changes in cerebral blood flow using this method indicates the possibility of measuring changes in cerebral blood flow using fNIRS when a person is touched on the back. fNIRS has been shown to be useful for studying the effects of touch.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.