ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Perception Science
Cosmetic After-Feel Modulates Brain Activity in Sensory and Reward Networks: An fMRI Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Lucas Meyer Cosmetics SAS, Massy, France
- 2Brain Impact Neuroscience, Lasnes, Belgium
- 3Universite catholique de Louvain Institute of NeuroScience, Brussels, Belgium
- 4International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, New York, United States
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The affective dimensions of cosmetic textures were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how after-feel, defined as residual tactile sensations persisting on the skin after product application, modulates sensory and emotional processing. Twenty healthy women took part in three conditions: no cream (control), cream A, or cream B, differing only in emulsifier composition. A fixed amount of cream was applied to predefined areas of the left hand. After absorption, participants stroked these areas at a controlled speed. fMRI data were acquired during this self-touch task, preprocessed using a standardized pipeline, and analyzed using a general linear model. Results showed that the no-cream and cream B conditions primarily engaged primary somatosensory regions, consistent with basic tactile encoding. In contrast, cream A additionally recruited brain areas involved in affective and reward processing, including the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and putamen, with key reward-related responses, notably within striatal and insular regions, showing a right-hemispheric dominance contralateral to the hand receiving the tactile input. This broader activation pattern suggests that specific cosmetic ingredients can enhance the emotional salience of after-feel, potentially through C-tactile afferent pathways mediating affective tactile signals. These findings reflect a hierarchical integration of tactile input, from sensory encoding to higher-order affective appraisal. They highlight the potential of cosmetic formulations to influence central touch representation beyond surface-level sensation. This proof-of-concept study offers novel insights into how the sensory and emotional qualities of cosmetic products take shape in the brain, providing a neuroscientific foundation for the development of emotionally engaging textures.
Keywords: affective touch, after-feel, fMRI, Reward network, somatosensory processing
Received: 02 Dec 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 MANIERE, PETRE, KUPERS, MANETTA, ATTIA and GERARDIN. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Audrey MANIERE
Joan ATTIA
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