10 Articles About The Neuroscience of Touch

10 Articles About The Neuroscience of Touch

Touch is one of the most underused tools in medicine

Research into touch is coming out at an ever increasing rate, some of this research is changing the way we think about the physical and psychological effect of touch. Whether you are a therapists interested in the nervous system or you simply are looking for reading materials for continuing education credits, here is a list of ten open access articles about touch and the nervous system.

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A selection of articles that upend conventional wisdom about rehabilitation and pain

A selection of articles that upend conventional wisdom about rehabilitation and pain

In this post I have to put together a resource page featuring a number of health science articles featured popular journals and websites. I invite you to explore some of these resources then take the information and share it with your personal learning network to promote the benefits of massage therapy.

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Touch is the sense we understand the least – but maybe not for much longer

Touch is the sense we understand the least – but maybe not for much longer

"What tells you your bladder is full? Your body uses a sense that is so all-pervasive it’s normally kept at a subconscious level so we aren’t overwhelmed with information. Sometimes referred to as a sixth sense, this internal sensing ability is actually part of the “mechanical sense” that includes touch. It tells you where your legs are and whether they are safely touching the ground; that your shoulders are connected to your arms, and so on."

Image Credit: Madhero88 and M.Komorniczak - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skin_layers.png, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21986708

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Holding your partner's hand can ease their pain

Holding your partner's hand can ease their pain

"Interpersonal touch has important social and affective meanings. Skin-to-skin touch is necessary to the development of premature infants. It contributes to the regulation of stress responses in adults, enhances trust, and provides comfort and emotional wellbeing. So while it’s unlikely that this research solves the problem of painkillers, it does propose a very simple pain treatment with an indispensable side effect: connecting with other people."

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Touch in infancy is important for healthy brain development

Touch in infancy is important for healthy brain development

"Touch underpins our social world and, evidence suggests, it may even help to reduce anxiety and provide pain relief. But can touch shape the actual organisation of our brains? Research is now revealing that experiences with touch – especially in infancy – do indeed shape brain development."

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