Our body has between 6 or 10 million touch sensors that collect information from both inside and outside the body , the sense of touch being the most distributed and also the most durable, hence the skin becomes a kind of ” social organ ” and touch in an instrument of great potential.
The caresses are, therefore, one of the banners of this sense and, according to a recent investigation, these are transmitted from the skin to the brain by means of nerves whose conduction speed is very slow . Tactile nerve fibers (TCs), as the nerves that respond to caresses are called, have a very low perceptual threshold and the receptors that activate them are located in the skin with the presence of hair. It is the exact same receptors that also conduct pain sensations to the brain.
These sensors provide us with information from the beginning of our life , so that “ a failure in the CT system during neurodevelopment can negatively impact the functioning of the social brain and the sense of self, as happens with people with autism spectrum disorders, who do not adequately process emotional touch, ”says study leader Francis McGlone.
Hence, the researchers conclude that the deficit of caresses during early life can have negative effects on a series of behaviors and psychological states in adulthood, since, by not traveling these tactile sensations to the limbic system (in charge of managing the responses emotional), brain development suffers.
The study, which has been published in the journal Neuron , also warns that “in a world in which touch is relegated to the background with the increase in social networks that promote contactless communication, and the decrease in caresses fondness for babies by caregivers and parents due to the economic pressures of modern life, it is increasingly important to recognize how vital a loving touch is, ”concludes McGlone.
