Tactile communication and its role for emotions in humans and animals

Pleasant tactile experiences have been linked to a number of positive effects. For example, it has been suggested that they calm a touched individual and promote positive attitudes towards a toucher. We conducted a series of studies to determine whether these effects are stimulus-driven or whether they depend on touch attribution. To this end, we explored tactile effects in both humans and zebrafish. In humans, we found that touch produced by a tactile device elicited similar effects on heart rate and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) as touch produced by a friend. Moreover, ERPs indicated that touch, regardless of attribution, increased sensitivity to emotional and socially relevant stimuli. In zebrafish, we observed that, like in humans, tactile stimulation has a calming effect. It reduced cortisol levels and fear behavior after exposure to a threat. Together, these data suggest that at least some of the positive effects of touch result from bottom-up mechanisms and have a distant evolutionary origin.

Information

Sprecher

Prof. Dr. Annett Schirmer
Department of Psychology
National University of Singapore

Datum

Mittwoch, 19.Dezember 2012, 16 Uhr c.t.

Ort

Universität Ulm, N27, Raum 2.033 (Videoübertragung zur Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg G26.1-010)