Maier A, et al. - As childhood maltreatment is noted to be a major risk factor for psychopathology associated with interpersonal problems in adulthood, researchers here sought for the etiological pathways involved. They hypothesize that childhood maltreatment confers risk for dysfunctional behavior in social interactions by modifying interpersonal distance preference and the processing of social touch. Employing an interpersonal distance paradigm, they tested 92 medication-free adults (64 of them female) with low, medium, and high levels of childhood maltreatment; these individuals subsequently underwent a social touch functional MRI task during which they rated the perceived comfort of slow touch (C-tactile [CT] optimal speed; 5 cm/s) and fast touch (non-CT-optimal speed; 20 cm/s). Findings suggest a correlation of higher childhood maltreatment levels with hypersensitivity characterized by a preference for larger interpersonal distance and discomfort of fast touch. These dysregulations were presented in a sensory cortical hyperreactivity and limbic CT-related hypoactivation. These results suggest why an increased susceptibility to interpersonal dysfunctions and psychiatric disorders in adulthood is exhibited by individuals with severe childhood maltreatment.