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©iStockphoto.com/starfotografAfter a busy day at work, you step through the door and immediately kick off those uncomfortable shoes that have been pinching your toes and blistering your heels. You treat yourself to a quick self-massage, then slip your feet into warm, cozy socks. You give your dog a quick scratch behind the ears, grab a soft pillow, and sink into the couch. Just as you're getting settled, you realize your drink is a bit too far from reach. No worries though. As you watch the TV, your hand instinctively stretches out to find your hot cup of tea. The moment your fingers brush the warm ceramic, you realize you’ve finally arrived home.
Only 15 minutes have passed since you stepped in, yet your sense of touch has already processed millions of tiny details from your surroundings. The pain of your tight shoes has disappeared, replaced by the soothing comfort of soft fabrics. The cold, wet kiss from your dog has turned into the warm embrace of your couch and a comforting mug of hot tea. From temperature to texture, your sense of touch has been in constant dialogue with your brain, sending and receiving signals that shape your perception of the world around you.
Your somatic sensory system is the key to your sense of touch [source: Neuro Science]. This system contains nerve receptors that allow you to sense when something touches your skin, like when someone brushes past you. These receptors are often referred to as touch receptors or pressure receptors. You also have nerve receptors that detect pain and changes in temperature, such as heat and cold [source: Biology Web].
If you're curious to dive deeper into how this intricate system functions, keep reading to discover how your sense of touch operates from head to toe and everything in between.
Physiology of Touching
You likely associate the sense of touch with your skin, and you're not wrong—your skin houses around 5 million sensory nerve receptors. However, the ability to feel pain and pressure extends beyond just your skin. Think about sensations like stomachaches and headaches. Still, the bulk of your touch perception is driven by stimuli received through the skin.
So, how does the journey from touch receptors in your skin to your brain unfold? When touch, pain, or temperature sensors in your skin are activated, they generate electrical signals that travel to your neurons, specialized cells responsible for transmitting electrochemical signals [source: A.D.A.M.]. These sensory neurons work as a relay team, passing the electrical signal from one neuron to the next until it reaches your spinal cord. The spinal cord then relays the signal to your brain, where it is interpreted [source: Johns Hopkins].
When your pain receptors notify your brain that a pair of tight shoes is causing discomfort, your brain understands that you're experiencing pain. It then sends signals to the muscles in your foot, prompting them to curl your pinkie toe away from the source of pain until you can remove your shoes. Similarly, if you touch something very cold, your cold receptors send the signal to your brain, which makes you shiver in response. Likewise, if you feel pressure from a hug, your brain processes the sensation of pressure around your shoulders or body.
Your brain has the ability to combine signals from various sensory receptors. For example, when you wrap a warm towel around your body after a sauna, you're engaging both your pressure and temperature receptors. However, your perception of this experience is influenced by the psychology behind your sense of touch. Keep reading to understand how your brain interprets touch in unique ways.
Your sense of touch is the first to develop in the womb, even before you're born. Babies depend on their sense of touch to thrive after birth as well. For example, they turn their head when something touches their cheek, and pressure sensors help them feel secure in a comforting embrace [source: Children's Mercy Hospitals].
Psychology of Touching
You may already know that a hug from someone you love can lower your blood pressure and make you feel cherished and important. A firm handshake with a friend can also create a strong bond. How you perceive the hug or handshake, and how your touch receptors process the pressure, is all rooted in your brain.
There are various basic types of touch that you may encounter:
- Intimate -- This type of touch involves pressure receptors responding to a handshake, hug, or kiss. If the person giving the touch is someone you care about, you'll likely feel warmth and comfort. Your pressure sensors detect the intensity of the embrace, and your brain interprets it as soothing [source: A.D.A.M.].
- Healing or therapeutic -- Often associated with massage or acupuncture, this touch may involve gentle pressure to relieve sore muscles or deeper pressure to work out knots. Despite variations in pressure, your body recognizes the healing outcome, allowing you to relax.
- Exploratory or inquisitive -- Our sense of touch helps us explore the world. Many people assess foods, fabrics, or objects by feeling their textures. Sometimes, touch is the only sense needed to understand something, like when you reach into your bag and identify your keys by their cold metal and smooth plastic feel.
- Aggressive or painful -- Of course, touch can also be painful if the pressure is excessive or the intent is wrong. A handshake that's too firm can be more uncomfortable than reassuring.
Your sense of touch often makes you pull away from the sting of a needle. However, practitioners of acupuncture, an ancient therapy that involves inserting very thin needles into specific areas of the body, have been using this technique for thousands of years. Acupuncture originated in ancient China, and its supporters believe that placing needles correctly can restore balance and health to the body [source: Mayo Clinic].
