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Jill

The science of cuddling

Cory Doctorow at 10:08 am Wed, Jul 31, 2002

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You have extra nerve-endings that detect cuddling, in addition to regular sense-of-touch nerves.
The revelation came after doctors realised that a woman with no sense of touch still felt a "pleasant" sensation when her skin was caressed.

Normal touch is transmitted to the brain through a network of fast-conducting nerves, called myelinated fibres, which carry signals at 60 metres per second. But there is a second slow-conducting nerve network of unmyelinated fibres, called C-tactile (CT), the role of which was unknown. The CT network carries signals at just one metre per second.

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I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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