Introduction Intrapersonal touch is a powerful tool for communicating emotions and can among many things evoke feelings of eroticism and sexual arousal. The peripheral neural mechanisms of erotic touch signaling have been less studied. C tactile afferents (unmyelinated low‐threshold mechanoreceptors), known to underpin pleasant aspects of touch processing, have been posited to play an important role. Method In two studies, we investigated the relationship between C tactile activation and the perception of erotic and pleasant touch, using tactile brushing stimulation. In total, 66 healthy subjects (37 women, age range 19–51 years) were examined. In study 1 (n = 20), five different stroking velocities were applied to the forearm and the inner thigh. The participants answered questions about partnership, mood, and touch. In study 2 (n = 46), the same five stroking velocities were applied to the forearm. The participants answered questions about partnership, touch, and sexuality. Results Both touch eroticism and pleasantness were rated significantly higher for C tactile optimal velocities compared with suboptimal velocities. No difference was found between the ratings of the thigh and the forearm. The velocity‐dependent rating curves of pleasantness, intensity, and eroticism differed from each other. Pleasantness was best explained by a quadratic fit, intensity by a linear fit, and eroticism by both. A linear transformation of pleasantness and intensity predicted the observed eroticism ratings reliably. Eroticism ratings were negatively correlated with length of relationship. Conclusion Touch was rated most erotic when perceived as pleasant and weak. In human hairy skin, perception of pleasantness is correlated with the firing rate of C tactile afferents, and perception of intensity is correlated with the firing rate of Aβ afferents. Accordingly, eroticism may be perceived most readily for touch stimuli that induce high activity in C tactile fibers and low activity in Aβ fibers. Jönsson EH, Backlund Wasling H, Wagnbeck V, Dimitriadis M, Georgiadis JR, Olausson H, and Croy I. Unmyelinated tactile cutaneous nerves signal erotic sensations. J Sex Med 2015;12:1338–1345.

Introduction: Depressive disorder has been conceptualised as a condition of accelerated biological ageing. We operationalised a frailty index (FI) as marker for biological ageing aimed to explore the bidirectional, longitudinal association between frailty and either depressive symptoms or depressive disorder. Methods:A cohort study with 6-year follow-up including 377 older (≥60 years) outpatients with a DSM-IV-defined depressive disorder and 132 never-depressed controls. Site visits at baseline, 2 and 6-year follow-up were conducted and included the CIDI 2.0 to assess depressive disorder and relevant covariates.Depressive symptom severity and mortality were assessed every 6 months by mail and telephone. A 41-item FI was operationalised and validated against the 6-year morality rate by Cox regression (HR FI = 1.04 [95% CI: 1.02-1.06]).Results: Cox regression showed that a higher FI was associated with a lower chance of remission among depressed patients (HR FI = 0.98 [95% CI: 0.97-0.99]). Nonetheless, this latter effect disappeared after adjustment for baseline depressive symptom severity. Linear mixed models showed that the FI increased over time in the whole sample (B[SE] = 0.94 (0.12), p < .001) with a differential impact of depressive symptom severity and depressive disorder. Higher baseline depressive symptom severity was associated with an attenuated and depressive disorder with an accelerated increase of the FI over time. Conclusions:The sum score of depression rating scales is likely confounded by frailty. Depressive disorder, according to DSM-IV criteria, is associated with accelerated biological ageing. This argues for the development of multidisciplinary geriatric care models incorporating frailty to improve the overall outcome of latelife depression.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Background The deficit accumulation method considers the ageing process underlying frailty as a random accumulation of health deficits. Objective Although Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) have consistently been associated with the onset of mental disorders and somatic diseases during adolescence and midlife, it remains unknown whether ACE still exert detrimental health effects in late life. Therefore, we examined cross-sectionally and prospectively the association between ACE and frailty among community-dwelling older people. Design Based on the health-deficit accumulation method, a Frailty Index was calculated with values ≥0.25 considered as frail. ACE were measured by a validated questionnaire. The cross-sectional association was examined by logistic regression among 2,176 community dwelling participants aged 58–89 years. The prospective association was examined by Cox-regression among 1,427 non-frail participants during a 17-year follow-up. Interactions with age and sex were tested and analyses were adjusted for potential confounders. Setting The present study was embedded in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Results ACE and frailty were positively associated at baseline (OR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.46–2.42; P = 0.05). Among non-frail participants at baseline (n = 1,427), ACE interacted with age on the prediction of frailty. Stratified analyses showed that a history of ACE only resulted in a higher hazard rate for the incidence of frailty among those aged ≥70 years (HR = 1.28; P = 0.044). Conclusion Even in the oldest-old, ACE still lead to an accelerated rate of the accumulation of health deficits and therefore contribute to the onset of frailty.