Human endogenous oxytocin and its neural correlates show adaptive responses to social touch based on recent social context

The role of oxytocin (OT) in social behaviours has long been considered. Some studies suggest that endogenous OT is a mediator of social relationships, while other studies have shown that the exogenous manipulation of OT may not impact social behaviour at all. Here, Handlin, Novembre et al. explored the top-down effect of partner/stranger touch on endogenous Read more…

Why do hugs feel so good?

The social touch hypothesis proposes that C-tactile fibers form a privileged pathway underlying social touch. The pleasantness percept has long been related to a slow, caress-like touch. Here, Case and colleagues propose that deep pressure constitutes another important form of social touch. Their results suggest that the brain activity recorded Read more…