Martyn J. McFarquhar
Papers
2
Total Citations
84
H-Index
2
About
Martyn J. McFarquhar is a leading researcher in affective neuroscience, with a focus on the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of social touch and its links to mental health. His work explores how early life adversity, particularly neglect and abuse, shapes the perception of affective touch in adulthood. In his highly cited 2020 study (61 citations), he demonstrated that care leavers in the UK, who experienced childhood adversity, show altered processing of nurturing touch, providing critical insights into the long-term effects of early caregiving environments on social and emotional wellbeing. McFarquhar’s 2023 work (23 citations) further disentangles individual differences in responses to static versus dynamic touch, refining the social touch hypothesis by examining how C-tactile afferents—nerve fibers tuned to gentle, caress-like touch—contribute to affective brain processing. His research bridges developmental psychology, sensory neuroscience, and clinical applications, offering a nuanced understanding of how touch deprivation or trauma can impact social bonding and mental health. McFarquhar’s contributions are pivotal for informing interventions aimed at improving relational health in vulnerable populations.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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