Touch and the Emotions from a More-Than-Human Perspective: Discoveries in Frogs, Cats, Primates, … and Humans

Pioneering neurophysiological experiments on frogs and cats from the 1920s in Cambridge and then Stockholm found unusual nerve fibres that responded to tickle, temperature, touch and pain. But these nerves acted differently, and much more slowly, than other sensory nerves in these animals. A new class of nerve fibres known as C Tactile (or CT) had been discovered, and opened up what seemed to be a distinct new pathway for touch which responded to slow contact at body temperature. Further experiments found them in other mammals, including primates. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that their presence was confirmed in humans. Why was this? Since that time a slow revolution has been underway in the way we think about ‘slow’ or affective touch and its relationship to stress, bonding behaviours, and hormone release in mammals, and some neuroscientists offer a ‘social touch’ hypothesis. Come find out more about the world of touch and the emotions that we share across species, and get a free hug voucher.