Habig K, et al. - A possible role of C-tactile or C-touch (CT)-afferents in pain modulation was elaborate by investigating healthy volunteers and small fiber neuropathy (SFN)-patients. Independent of the intensity of the pain stimulus, CT input appeared to be sufficient to modulate pain. The CT fibers had to be intact as in healthy volunteers as a prerequisite. If CT fibers were impaired - as in SFN -, CT-targeted touch did not modulate pain intensity. Since the cortical activation pattern of heat pain with and without CT-targeted touch did not differ in healthy subjects and in SFN-patients, the location of CT-induced pain modulation could be attributed to the level of the dorsal horn.