Contributors
Preface
SECTION I THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF TOUCH
1. The Anatomy and Physiology of the Skin
2. Sensory Processes of Touch
3. The Molecular and Genetic Basis of Touch
4. Brain Plasticity and Touch
SECTION II PERCEIVING THE PHYSICAL WORLD VIA TOUCH
5. Biomechanical and Neurophysiological Basis of the Processing of Tactile Stimuli
6. Hierarchical Neural Pathways of Haptic Object Processing
7. The Organization and Function of Somatosensory Cortex
8. Crossmodal Interactions in Tactile Perception
SECTION III MEASUREMENT OF TOUCH
9. Measurement of Tactile Response and Tactile Perception
10. Measurement of Touch Behavior
SECTION IV COMMUNICATION VIA TOUCH
11. Communicating Through Touch: Touching During Parent-Infant Interactions
12. The Communicative Functions of Touch in Adulthood
13. Gender and Status Patterns in Social Touch
14. Tactile Traditions: Cultural Differences and Similarities in Haptic Communication
SECTION V THE RELEVANCE OF TOUCH FOR DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH
15. Maternal Touch and the Developing Infant
16. Tactile Dysfunction in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
17. Touch in People Who Are Visually Impaired
18. Massage Therapy: A Review of Recent Research
19. Haptic Feedback: Technology and Medical Applications
Index