Observing positive and negative social touch triggers topographically distinct physical and emotional reactions in the body.

Justyna Świdrak, Wenhan Sun, Pinar Ekin, Merle T Fairhurst

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Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Justyna ŚwidrakInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences (IP PAS), Warsaw, Poland.

Wenhan SunCentre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.

Pinar EkinCentre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.

Merle T FairhurstCentre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. merle.fairhurst@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0001-6540-5891

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Interpersonal touch is a fundamentally multidimensional and multisensory experience and as such is highly subjective. By whom, where and how we are touched determines how we react to and feel about it. Previous research using topographical body tasks has mainly examined where people feel comfortable being touched by others. Using the BodyMap Tool, we mapped distinct somatoperceptions associated with positive and negative social touch videos, comparing physical sensations and emotional responses. We quantified these patterns with a BodyMap Score (BMS) reflecting valence and spatial coverage. Positive videos elicited higher physical than emotional BMS, whereas negative videos showed the opposite pattern, with broader emotional than physical somatoperceptions. Individual differences further modulated these effects: touch-avoidant participants showed reduced BMS for positive touch, and participants reporting pain exhibited overall lower BMS, though this reduction was attenuated for positive stimuli. These findings highlight the complex and context-dependent bodily representation of social touch.

Indexed as

EmotionsTouchTouch PerceptionAdultFemaleHumansInterpersonal RelationsMaleYoung AdultAffective reactionsBody mappingBody representationChronic painInterpersonal touch

Identifiers

PMID42542464

DOI10.1038/s41598-026-64569-7

PMCPMC13428749

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.