Think that massage feels good? Try adding drugs

摘要

You don't need us to tell you that certain types of touch - massage and stroking - can be pleasurable. Nerves dedicated to creating these feelings have been identified and artificially stimulated in mice, leading to hope that the work could aid the development of drugs that relieve pain or stress. Some nerves rapidly transmit sensations of touch or pain to the brain, but others work much more slowly. These C-tactile fibres, as they are known in humans, are found under hairy skin and respond to stroking.