WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new review published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences explored the idea of thermoception, the ability to feel changes in skin temperature, such as a warm hug or a sudden cold breeze, suggesting that temperature plays an important role in how strongly people feel that their body belongs to them.
The review, led by Dr. Laura Crucianelli from Queen Mary University of London and Professor Gerardo Salvato from the University of Pavia, was based on many years of research in neuroscience, psychology and clinical science. The authors noted that temperature sensing should be seen as a key part of body awareness as it is a way for the body to send signals to the brain.
'For example, we now know from experimental studies that thermal signals play a fundamental role in clinical conditions. People with altered temperature regulation and temperature perception, due to a brain stroke, may develop pathological conditions according to which they do not recognize part of their bodies as belonging to themselves,' Salvato commented.
The researchers explained that sensing temperature is not just about staying comfortable or alive. It also affects emotions, sense of self and mental health. Scientifically speaking, warm social touch activates special nerve fibres and temperature-sensitive pathways that send signals to a brain area linked to emotional control and internal body awareness. Warm touch is also linked to the release of oxytocin, a hormone that reduces stress, which strengthens social bonds and helps people feel more connected to their bodies.
'When we hug, the combination of tactile and thermal signals increases our sense of body ownership, so we are more connected to our embodied sense of self,' explained Crucianelli. 'Feeling warm touch on the skin enhances our ability to sense ourselves from the inside and recognize our own existence. We feel, 'this is my body, and I am grounded in it.'
Moreover, the review suggested that climate change and exposure to extreme heat or cold could affect how people experience their bodies and think.
'Warm touch reminds us that we are connected, valued, and part of a social world. Humans are wired for social closeness, and hugs briefly dissolve the boundary between 'self' and 'other',' Crucianelli added.
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