Somatosensory and Social Neuroscience

• Charlotte Krahé examines social contextual influences (including affective touch in close relationships and interactions between healthcare professionals and patients) in experimentally-induced and chronic pain.
• Adarsh Makdani studies the neurobiological basis of somatosensory sensation and perception, including touch, pain, and itch.
• David Moore focuses on pain in autistic people and inequalities in neurodivergent healthcare.
• Ralph Pawling examines the psychophysiological responses and behaviour associated with non-verbal social cue processing, as well as the application of psychophysiological measures of emotion in addressing applied research questions.
• Paula Trotter researches affective (socially relevant) touch with a particular interest in its links to mental health.
• Susannah Walker examines the neurobiological and psychological processes underpinning the formation and maintenance of social bonds across the lifespan, and the mechanisms by which social relationships support health and wellbeing.

• Ali, S. H., Makdani, A. D., Cordero, M. I., Paltoglou, A. E., Marshall, A. G., McFarquhar, M. J., McGlone, F.P, Walker, S.C and Trotter, P. D. (2023). Hold me or stroke me? Individual differences in static and dynamic affective touch. PloS one, 18(5), e0281253.
• Devine, S. L., Walker, S. C., Makdani, A., Stockton, E. R., McFarquhar, M. J., McGlone, F. P., and Trotter, P. D. (2020). Childhood adversity and affective touch perception: a comparison of United Kingdom care leavers and non-care leavers. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 557171.
• Drummond, J., Makdani, A., Pawling, R., and Walker, S. C. (2024). Congenital anosmia and facial emotion recognition. Physiology & Behavior, 278, 114519.
• Friedrich, Y., Faresse, S., Henning, C., Trotter, P. D., Ackerley, R., and Croy, I. (2025). Measuring differences in social touch: Development and validation of the short Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ-s). Personality and Individual Differences, 233, 112890.
• Hagan, R., Moore, D., McGlone, F., and Walker, S. C. (2025). Olfactory scene analysis: Does analytical visual processing predict superior identification of component odours in a complex mixture? Perception, 54(6), 408-430.
• Hagan, R., Pawling, R., McGlone, F., and Walker, S. C. (2025). No evidence for goal priming or sensory specific satiety effects following exposure to ambient food odours. Appetite, 204, 107730.
• Hewitt, D., Besharati, S., Williams, V., Leal, M., McGlone, F., Stancak, A., Henderson, J., and Krahé, C. (2025). Is cultural context the crucial touch? Neurophysiological and self-reported responses to affective touch in women in South Africa and the United Kingdom. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 20(1), nsaf082.
• Krahé, C., Brown, C., Twiddy, H., Frank, B., Brian, E., Nurmikko, T., . . . Fallon, N. (2024). Effects of lockdown restrictions and impact of anxiety and depression symptoms in people with chronic pain during the COVID-19 pandemic: A 13-wave longitudinal study. The Journal of Pain, 25(5), 104437.
• Krahé, C., Koukoutsakis, A., and Fotopoulou, A. (2024). Updating beliefs about pain following advice: Trustworthiness of social advice predicts pain expectations and experience. Cognition, 246, 105756.
• Moore, D. J., Jordan, A., Wainwright, E., Failla, M. D., Connell, H., and Gauntlett-Gilbert, J. (2025). The effects of autistic traits in adolescents on the efficacy of paediatric Intensive Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment (IIPT). The Journal of Pain, 27, 104757.
• Moore, W., Nikesjö, J., Bouchatta, O., Makdani, A. D., Hakizimana, P., Rousson, M., ... and Marshall, A. (2025). Robust coupling between the C‐tactile afferent and the hair follicle in humans. The Journal of Physiology, 603(16), 4593-4608.
• Ng, K. K., Lafee, O., Bouchatta, O., Makdani, A. D., Marshall, A. G., Olausson, H., ... and Nagi, S. S. (2024). Human foot outperforms the hand in mechanical pain discrimination. eNeuro, 11(2).
• Pawling, R., Cannon, P. R., McGlone, F. P., and Walker, S. C. (2017). C-tactile afferent stimulating touch carries a positive affective value. PloS one, 12(3), e0173457.
• Pawling, R., Kirkham, A. J., Hayes, A. E., and Tipper, S. P. (2017). Incidental retrieval of prior emotion mimicry. Experimental Brain Research, 235(4), 1173-1184.
• Pawling, R., McGlone, F., and Walker, S. C. (2024). High frequency heart rate variability is associated with sensitivity to affective touch. Physiology & Behavior, 283, 114600.
• Planes Alias, M., Moore, D. J., Fallon, N., Herron, K., and Krahé, C. (2026). How do people with fibromyalgia interpret ambiguous cues in empathy-related healthcare scenarios? The Journal of Pain, 40.
• Tinker, V. C., Trotter, P. D., and Krahé, C. (2023). Depression severity is associated with reduced pleasantness of observed social touch and fewer current intimate touch experiences. Plos one, 18(8), e0289226.
• Trotter, P. D., Smith, S. A., Moore, D. J., O’Sullivan, N., McFarquhar, M. M., McGlone, F. P., and Walker, S. C. (2022). Acute tryptophan depletion alters affective touch perception. Psychopharmacology, 239(9), 2771-2785.
• Trotter, P. D., McGlone, F., Reniers, R. L. E. P., and Deakin, J. F. W. (2018). Construction and validation of the touch experiences and attitudes questionnaire (TEAQ): a self-report measure to determine attitudes toward and experiences of positive touch. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 42(4), 379-416.
• Vaughan, S., McGlone, F., Poole, H., and Moore, D. J. (2020). A quantitative sensory testing approach to pain in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(5), 1607-1620.
• Walker, S. C. (2025). The power of public engagement: Reflections on bring your own brain 2025. Brain and Neuroscience Advances, 9, 23982128251398905.
• Walker, S. C., Marshall, A., and Pawling, R. (2022). Psychophysiology and motivated emotion: testing the affective touch hypothesis of C-tactile afferent function. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 43, 131-137.
• Walker, S. C., Cavieres, A., Peñaloza‐Sancho, V., El‐Deredy, W., McGlone, F. P., and Dagnino‐Subiabre, A. (2022). C‐low threshold mechanoafferent targeted dynamic touch modulates stress resilience in rats exposed to chronic mild stress. European Journal of Neuroscience, 55(9-10), 2925-2938.
• Wei, Y., Marshall, A. G., McGlone, F. P., Makdani, A., Zhu, Y., Yan, L., ... and Wei, G. (2024). Human tactile sensing and sensorimotor mechanism: from afferent tactile signals to efferent motor control. Nature Communications, 15(1), 6857.
• Widdrington H, Krahé C, Herron K, Smith K, Cherry MG. (2025). Thriving when living with chronic pain: A qualitative evidence synthesis of individuals' experiences. British Journal of Health Psychology, 30, e70000. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.70000
• Wilson, J. M., Meints, S. M., Edwards, R. R., Yamin, J. B., and Moore, D. J. (2024). The role of sleep disturbance in reduced accuracy on a divided attention task among patients with fibromyalgia. Pain Reports, 9(1), e1122.

• “Touching the Void: an investigation into the role of a population of gentle touch sensitive CT-afferents in social isolation and sensory deprivation during a long duration Antarctic stay” (European Space Agency, 2026-2030) Walker Co-I.
• “Advancing knowledge and care for autistic children and young people (CYP) with chronic pain” (Mayday Fund, January 2025 – January 2027) Moore Co-I.
• “Development of a programme of research to explore a developmental trajectory of pain in young adults with Down Syndrome, Autism and Learning Disability of No Known Aetiology” (Bailey Thomas, January 2025-December 2026) Moore Co-I.
• “Experience of autistic adults of pain and pain management: Barriers to effective treatment” (Pain Relief Foundation, January 2024–November 2026) Moore PI.
• “Perceived social threat in chronic pain” (Pain Relief Foundation, October 2024 - January 2026) Krahé PI.

Higher Education Innovation Funding for 2025 to 26:

• “Identifying barriers and facilitators to engaging in social prescribing in people living with chronic pain” Krahé PI.
• “Massaging the way to wellness: optimising infant massage for mental health conditions” Trotter PI.

Members regularly contribute to public engagements events both locally and nationally. Susannah Walker and Charlotte Krahé are alumni of the LJMU Engage programme, a 6-month training programme facilitated by LJMU in conjunction with the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE). Charlotte Krahé is Recorder of the British Science Association Psychology section.

Recent public engagement activities include:

• “Bring Your Own Brain”: the public programme of events that ran in the lead up to the British Neuroscience Association’s International Festival of Neuroscience in Liverpool, March to April 2025. Events included:
  • “Smell, Taste, Flavour and Your Brain “– a two-week residency at Eureka! Science + Discovery
  • “In touch with the body” – an event on pain and touch held at Shakespeare North Playhouse
• “Losing touch” at the British Science Festival September 2025
• A window display on the skin senses at Liverpool’s Quirky Quarter (November 2025 to January 2026)

• Joana Antunes (joint with University of Minho, Portugal): “Affective touch and neurodevelopment in preterm infants”
• Ingrid Boedker: “Liverpool night-time care-giving study”
• Emma Crocker: “Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) for chronic pain management in neurodivergent adults”
• Shaunna Devine: “Pathways to social connectedness in care-experienced people”
• Olivia McNeill: “Social safety learning in the context of pain”
• Laura Mulligan: “The healing power of touch: Evidence of a neurobiological mechanism for reducing pain and enhancing neurodevelopmental outcomes”
• Maria Planes Alias: “The role of empathy in interactions between healthcare professionals and people with fibromyalgia”

We work collaboratively locally, nationally and internationally on shared research projects, as part of research consortia, and PhD supervisory teams. We have research partners as far north as British Columbia in Canada and as far south as Sydney, Australia.

In Liverpool, we work with pain researchers, practitioners and clinicians at the Walton Centre, Aintree Hospital Trust. Susannah Walker and Adarsh Makdani are both leading members of the Liverpool Neuroscience Group, a multi-disciplinary network of academics, clinicians, researchers, and students from across the city who share a passion for neuroscience.

Prof Martine Van Puyvelde of the Royal Military Academy Brussels is a visiting professor at LJMU and based within the group.

• Our Sensory and Affective Neuroscience Labs are well equipped for pain induction and somatosensory psychophysics including a Nd:YAP Laser, Electrical Stimulators, Cold Pressors, a full suite of QST equipment for mechanical sensations (von Frey, pressure algometer, pin pricks, and a Somedic SENSEBox), and thermal sensations (including stimulators from Medoc and QST-Lab), as well as two robotic Rotary Tactile Stimulators for touch at controlled force & velocities.
• Microneurography – we can record from and microstimulate single sensory nerves innervating the skin of human participants.
• Psychophysiology and behavioural testing labs and portable psychophysiology: Cardiac measures, EMG, EDA, and respiration (including kit from ADInstruments, Biopac, BioRadio, and Shimmer).
• Alongside mobile EEG systems (Brain Products, CGX), we have a dedicated EEG lab - housed in a spacious lab space with a sound-attenuated, shielded testing booth. The booth has controlled lighting and is equipped with a 64-channel Biosemi system. Eight external electrodes enable concurrent recording of eye movements and muscle activity alongside EEG. Washing up facilities and showers for participants are available in the building. Experiments are run on a high-resolution OLED display controlled by a PC with a high-performance graphics card. An EyeLink 1000+ system enables concurrent eye-tracking, and various input devices (button boxes, joysticks) are available.
• We have a range of specialised software for stimulus presentation and data collection including a computer-controlled olfactometer.
• NIRx and LUMO fNIRS systems.
• Vicon motion tracking system with 16 cameras.

Members lead and contribute to teaching on undergraduate (BSc Psychology ) and postgraduate (MSc Brain and Behaviour, MSc Health Psychology, MSc Positive Psychology and Wellbeing) taught programmes. Dave Moore is programme leader for MSc Brain and Behaviour. Charlotte Krahé is module leader for Somatosensory Systems (MSc Brain and Behaviour) and Experimental Psychology (BSc Psychology) modules. Paula Trotter is module leader for Research Methods (MSc Brain and Behaviour) and Neuroendocrinology (MSc Brain and Behaviour) and Ralph Pawling is module leader for Face Perception (BSc Psychology).