ReviewFrontiers in psychiatry2024
Touch medicine: bridging the gap between recent insights from touch research and clinical medicine and its special significance for the treatment of affective disorders.
Review in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The role of affective touch in mental illness: a systematic review of CT fiber dysregulation in psychological disorders and the therapeutic potential of CT fiber stimulation.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- C-low threshold mechanoreceptors: a novel target for health-tech in an increasingly touch-deprived world.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2026Review
- Untangling the Osteopathic Gordian Knot: Reconceptualized Principles for Sustainable and Contemporary Clinical Practice-A Conceptual Perspective.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Touch-Based Partner Yoga for Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Men in a Community Wellness Setting: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Program Evaluation of "The Studio".JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Longitudinal Effects of Mindfulness Combined with Gratitude Touch on Anxiety, Depression, and Stress: A 12-Month Portable EEG-Based Study.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Implementing integrative nursing for oncology inpatients: a retrospective analysis of project-related routine data from 2021 to 2023.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Distinct effects of fibromyalgia pain, depression and anxiety on perception of affective touch and pain.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- Through Massage to the Brain-Neuronal and Neuroplastic Mechanisms of Massage Based on Various Neuroimaging Techniques (EEG, fMRI, and fNIRS).Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Oxytocin release patterns and effects, with a focus on touch, social interaction, and closeness.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Using gloves wisely: rethinking glove use for health, safety, and environmental sustainability.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2026Article
- Newly validated touch experiences and attitudes questionnaire in German (TEAQ-G) is linked to social functioning, mental health, and hormonal stress regulation.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Reframing Massage Therapy: The Somato-Relational Framework for Mental Health and Healing.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2025Article
- Acute Effects of Osteopathic Treatment in Long COVID-19 Patients with Fatigue Symptoms: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Reduced Trust in Bodily Sensations Predicts Suicidal Ideation in Hospitalized Patients With Major Depression: An Observational Study.Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 2025Observational
- Article
- Beyond Needling: Integrating a Bayesian Brain Model into Acupuncture Treatment.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Is cultural context the crucial touch? Neurophysiological and self-reported responses to affective touch in women in South Africa and the United Kingdom.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2025Article
- Combining orofacial stimulation with gentle touch therapy improves breastfeeding tolerance and weight gain in preterm infants.American journal of translational research · 2025Article
- Affiliative touch, sense of self and psychosis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Introducing the Concept of Embodied Interconnectedness: Perspectives on Tactile Massage for Adolescents With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (adhd).Global advances in integrative medicine and healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Interpersonal touch represents the primal sensory experience between humans, fostering social bonding from the cradle to the death bed. In recent decades "affective touch" has been intensely studied, stimulated by the discovery of a population of mechanosensitive unmyelinated C-tactile afferents in mammalian skin. A lack of touch in childhood is associated with negative consequences for psychosocial and physical health and the benefits of professional touch techniques in the prevention and treatment of various diseases have been shown over and over again in clinical studies. However, its application in mainstream clinical applications remains limited. To bridge the gap between recent discoveries in touch research and clinical medicine, we propose the establishment of a new discipline: 'Touch Medicine'. Here, we unfold the potential of Touch Medicine by focusing on the treatment of depression, which in our view is primarily a disorder of the lived body. Controlled studies and systematic reviews have demonstrated the antidepressant, anxiolytic and analgesic effects of specific massage techniques. Underlying mechanisms of action are currently under investigation, ranging from interoceptive, endocrinological, to stress-related or psychological underpinnings. Touch Medicine represents a novel interdisciplinary field connected to various medical specialities such as neonatology, pediatrics, pain medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and geriatrics - but also clinical psychology and psychosomatic medicine might benefit from the integration of these findings into their daily practice.
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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.