Keep Calm and Cuddle on: Social Touch as a Stress Buffer
Open accessAbstract
Recent evidence from neurophysiology and human functional neuroimaging has given rise to the hypothesis that social, affective touch belongs to a distinct category of tactile experience. Such hedonic and rewarding touch is proposed to operate mainly in the domain of social interactions and relationships. Social touch may play a functional role in the physiological regulation of the body’s responses to acute stressors and other short-term challenges. In this perspective, touch can “buffer” disadvantageous physiological effects of potentially inefficient or maladaptive responses. This review outlines the evidence for such a role, as well as the neural pathways that may support it. Direct evidence for touch as a physiological regulator is strongest for systems that underlie the maintenance of physical proximity to conspecifics in a variety of circumstances. For example, mammalian social physical contact involves social thermoregulatory processes like huddling and snuggling, which also rely on tactile thermosensory and somatosensory pathways. There is also good evidence that touch systems contribute to preventing social separation and facilitating the re-instatement of contact following social separation. Finally, prosocial touch, such as allogrooming and consolation, may utilize some of the same neural pathways as other, non-social means of stress regulation. Social touch may thus serve as part of a system for regulation of responses to acute stressors, “extended” to include the physiological effects of social interactions.
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Touch improves stress coping through several physiological mechanisms.
“Touch improves stress coping through several physiological mechanisms [4,14].”
From Self-soothing touch and being hugged reduce cortisol responses to stress: A randomized controlled trial on stress, physical touch, and social identity (2021) · cites this paper as [14]
The Conclusion describes multiple physiological channels through which social touch is well-situated to buffer stress. But the paper presents this as a proposed role, while the citing sentence states that touch improves stress coping as a fact and does not limit the claim to social touch. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredAffiliative touch like hand-holding or hugging can be perceived as a form of social support.
“Affiliative touch like hand-holding or hugging can be perceived as a form of social support [[12], [14]].”
From Self-soothing touch and being hugged reduce cortisol responses to stress: A randomized controlled trial on stress, physical touch, and social identity (2021) · cites this paper as [14]
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- Authors
- Morrison, I.
- Affiliations
- Linköping University (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Morrison, India
- ORCID
- Morrison, India
- Venue
- Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology
- Published
- 2016-08-29
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 344-362
- ISSN
- 2198-7335 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2517508645
- Cited by
- 256
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 4.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Vetenskapsrådet (SE) (FYF-2013-687)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- social touch, stress buffering, acute stress, social thermoregulation, huddling, social separation, allogrooming, consolation, somatosensory pathways
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