Active Interpersonal Touch Gives Rise to the Social Softness Illusion

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.07.049
• Publication Date: 2015-09-12T06:42:28Z
• Authors: Antje Gentsch; Elena Panagiotopo...; Aikaterini Fotopo...
• Keywords: Adult; Pleasure; Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all); Adolescent; Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all); Illusions; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Touch Perception; Touch; Report; Humans; Female; Interpersonal Relations; Skin

Social touch plays a powerful role in human life, with important physical and mental health benefits development adulthood. Touch is central building the foundations of social interaction, attachment, cognition [1Field T. Touch. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2003Google Scholar, 2Montagu A. Touching: The Human Significance Skin. Columbia University New York1971Google 3Harlow H.F. nature love.Am. Psychol. 1958; 13: 673-685Crossref Google 4Gallace Spence C. science interpersonal touch: an overview.Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 2010; 34: 246-259Crossref PubMed Scopus (525) 5Cascio C.J. Somatosensory processing neurodevelopmental disorders.J. Neurodev. Disord. 2: 62-69Crossref (127) Scholar], early, has unique, beneficial neurophysiological epigenetic effects [6Sharp H. Pickles Meaney M. Marshall K. Tibu F. Hill J. Frequency infant stroking reported by mothers moderates effect prenatal depression on behavioural physiological outcomes.PLoS ONE. 2012; 7: e45446Crossref (95) 7Bystrova Ivanova V. Edhborg Matthiesen A.S. Ransjö-Arvidson A.B. Mukhamedrakhimov R. Uvnäs-Moberg Widström A.M. Early contact versus separation: mother-infant interaction one year later.Birth. 2009; 36: 97-109Crossref (276) 8Diamond Amso D. Contributions Neuroscience to Our Understanding Cognitive Development.Curr. Dir. Sci. 2008; 17: 136-141Crossref (49) 9Korosi Shanabrough McClelland S. Liu Z.W. Borok E. Gao X.B. Horvath T.L. Baram T.Z. Early-life experience reduces excitation stress-responsive hypothalamic neurons reprograms expression corticotropin-releasing hormone.J. Neurosci. 30: 703-713Crossref (128) Scholar]. recent discovery separate system for affectively laden humans further kindled scientific interest area [10Löken L.S. Wessberg Morrison I. McGlone Olausson Coding pleasant unmyelinated afferents humans.Nat. 12: 547-548Crossref (624) 11Olausson Lamarre Y. Backlund Morin Wallin B.G. Starck G. Ekholm Strigo Worsley Vallbo Bushnell M.C. Unmyelinated tactile signal project insular cortex.Nat. 2002; 5: 900-904Crossref (717) Remarkably, however, little known about what motivates sustains tendency others pro-social manner. Given importance touch, we hypothesized that active elicits more sensory pleasure when touching others' skin than one's own skin. In set six experiments (total N = 133) found healthy participants, mostly tested pairs account any objective differences softness, consistently judged another's as feeling softer smoother their We this softness illusion appeared selectively activated affective receiver. conclude underlies novel, bodily mechanism socio-affective bonding enhances our motivation others.