Article

Oxytocin Modulation of Spinal Circuits Drives Therapeutic Benefits of Massage

2026-01-12

Abstract excerpt

Across social species, social touch enhances well-being and reduces pain — two seemingly distinct benefits that enhance survival. Yet where and how the nervous system integrates these functions, and whether a single mechanism could serve both, remains unknown. Here we show that massage triggers oxytocin release, which shapes both pain and touch reward at the earliest stage of central processing — the spinal cord —...

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Literature Corpus work: 418348e1-956c-5efe-ad28-b8edbbf98531
DOI: 10.64898/2026.01.11.698886

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