Social touch is a powerful force in human development, shaping social reward, attachment,
cognitive, communication, and emotional regulation from infancy and throughout life. In this …

A growing body of evidence from the behavioural and neural sciences indicates that social
touch has a vital role in human development and psychological well-being. Despite some …

ABSTRACT John Cacioppo and colleagues' Somatovisceral Afference Model of Emotion
(SAME) highlighted the importance of interoception in emotional experience. Here we …

Highlights•Formalised communication model of touch with a new focus on the sender and
signal.•Clear definition of CT-mediated touch and integrated action with other forms of …

Observers can simulate aspects of other people's tactile experiences. We asked whether
they do so when faced with full-body social interactions, whether emerging representations …

This study explored whether a human-like feel of touch biases perceived pleasantness and
whether such a bias depends on top–down cognitive and/or bottom–up sensory processes …

Therapeutic affective touch has been recognized as essential for survival, nurturing
supportive interpersonal interactions, accelerating recovery—including reducing …

Highlights•Social touch plays a central part in our relationships.•When we view touch in
others, we formulate an inner representation of it.•This representation aids in understanding …

In humans, infants respond positively to slow, gentle stroking—processed by C-tactile (CT)
nerve fibers—by showing reductions in stress and increases in eye contact, smiling, and …

Highlights•Social withdrawal is a feature of both avoidant attachment and ASC.•Affective
touch processing is altered in autistic and avoidant phenotypes.•Early somatosensory …