Scientists shed new light on how we perceive vibrations through touch

Researchers have demonstrated a universal decoding system in humans that determines how we perceive vibrations of different frequencies through touch. Their findings, published in eLife, suggest that this decoding system overrules our tactile sensory channels when we perceive vibrotactile stimuli. The system depends on neural discharge (or spike) patterns, regardless of the type of receptor that receives the stimuli, challenging […]

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How brains distinguish between self-touch and touch by others

The brain seems to reduce sensory perception from an area of skin when we touch it ourselves, according to a new study from Linköping University published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The finding increases the understanding of how the brain distinguishes between being touched by another person and self-touch. The ability to distinguish between self […]

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Touch can produce detailed, lasting memories

Exploring objects through touch can generate detailed, durable memories for those objects, even when we don’t intend to memorize the object’s details, according to findings published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “An especially interesting finding was that participants were able to visually identify an object they had never seen but only touched one week […]

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Interpersonal touch helps people evaluate mistakes

A loved one’s touch might help people perform difficult mental tasks better and deal with setbacks more effectively, according to new research from the University of Dundee. Touch between people is central to communication, socialisation, and wellbeing. Despite this importance, touch is relatively understudied by psychologists compared to other forms of communication. To explore how touch impacts on the ways […]

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How a light touch can spur severe itching

For some people, particularly those who are elderly, even a light touch of the skin or contact with clothing can lead to unbearable itching. What’s worse, anti-itch treatments, including hydrocortisone, don’t provide much relief for this type of itching. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have discovered, in mice, why a touch can cause such […]

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