Interactions in the hedonic experience of touch and emotion : a double-blind placebo-controlled study using intranasal oxytocin
Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Interpersonal touch is a key means for communicating emotions in humans, and can be a powerful modulator of behavior. Perceived characteristics of the toucher, including his/her personality and emotional state, are among the factors likely to influence the hedonic touch experience in the touchee. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is involved in a range of social interactions, and has been proposed promote prosocial behavior in humans. The present study investigated interactions in the hedonic experience of touch and emotion perception, and addressed the role of oxytocin in these interactions.\nThirty healthy individuals participated in a within-subjects placebo-controlled study where central OT levels were elevated through administration of a nasal spray. Participants watched faces with different emotional values while simultaneously receiving socially relevant touch or a control non-social vibratory stimulus on the forearm. After each stimulus pair, they rated characteristics of the faces (perceived anger, happiness, attractiveness and friendliness), or characteristics of the touch (perceived pleasantness and intensity). Throughout the experiment, participants’ pupil responses to the tactile and visual stimuli were recorded as a measure of autonomic nervous signalling.\nThe results revealed that faces were rated as friendlier and less angry when accompanied by touch compared to vibration. Conversely, the reported pleasantness of tactile stimuli increased with happy faces relative to angry faces. OT was not found to increase positive perception of emotional stimuli. In contrast, participants rated angry faces as more angry with OT, supporting a view that its role in human social interactions is more complex than merely promoting positive social behavior.
Author: Dan‐Mikael Ellingsen
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2461737182