The touch of a loved one is always pleasant, but, in addition, according to new research by a group of scientists from France and Israel, they have a number of very interesting effects. For example, with the help of tactile contact, two close people synchronize the work of their brain in the range from 8 to 12 Hz, and also reduce pain, if any. How the researchers managed to prove this - read our material.
Indeed, touching, and more specifically, slow stroking, can significantly reduce pain. However, scientists do not fully understand how this process takes place. Previously, it was suggested that touching partially restricts the passage of the pain signal through the spinal cord. Other experts believed that it was all about psychology and the reduction in pain was associated with a decrease in anxiety and heart rate. In addition, the fact that the person in pain feels the empathy of their loved one plays an important role in the process.
Employees of the University of Haifa, led by Pavel Goldstein, conducted an interesting experiment. It was attended by 22 heterosexual couples aged 20 to 32 years. The girls and their young men were seated in chairs next to them. A heating element with a temperature sensor was put on one of the hands of the participants in the experiment, causing unpleasant painful sensations. After that, scientists using an electroencephalograph measured the girls' pain in several conditions: when they were alone in the room, when their partner was nearby, and also when the man was holding their hand. The participants in the experiment were additionally asked about their feelings. Men, among other things, were interested in how much they empathize with their partners.
The result of the experiment turned out to be very interesting. In the case when the man held his partner's hand, her pain was significantly reduced. At the same time, the level of synchronization of the pair's neural activity in the mu-range increased significantly. This refers to the area of the brain responsible for processing sensory information. The partners' empathy also increased sharply due to touch and the fact that the man literally "took" some of the pain on himself, without contacting directly with the heating element. Read the research results in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Sergey Gray