Introduction
Social touch, is of great importance for social interactions and individual development and can promote interpersonal communication (The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) plays a key role in the regulation of social cognition and the rewarding aspects of social stimuli, including social affective touch (The mechanism(s) whereby intranasal OT produces its functional effects are currently a matter of debate (see Support for peripherally mediated routes have been found in animal model studies reporting functional effects of OT administered subcutaneously or intraperitoneally (see Against this background, the present study investigated firstly whether intranasal OT primarily enhanced the pleasantness and associated brain reward responses to touch exclusively targeting CT fibers (using gentle stroking touch) or primarily targeting non-CT fiber pressure mechanoreceptors (medium pressure massage without stroking). Secondly, the effects of intranasal OT were contrasted with those of oral (lingual) OT using the same dose of 24 IU to help establish whether OT was mainly acting via peripherally mediated routes (see 