Hugs and Kisses

Affective touch is essential to healthy human development. There have been numerous studies on the effects on young children and non-human primates who grew up without a healthy amount of affective touch. Affective touch has different definitions for different people and varies between cultures and species.In general caressing touch is an effective way to communicate emotions and to create social bonds. It is also one of the key mediators of early parental bonding. "One study reports that brain scans have revealed that affective touch activates the orbitofrontal cortex, a brain region associated with learning and decision-making as well as with emotional and social behaviors,"( Cohut 2018). Another famous non-human primate study by Harry Harrlow further outlines potential outcomes of physical neglect using mechanical surrogate mothers for rhesus monkeys. While the ethics of the study are still widely debated, the data collected remains relevant and valuable. The article " Hugs and kisses: The health impact of affective touch" offers further insight on the psychological and physical benefits of "hugs and kisses" for both the giver and the receiver.

Find the full article here:

Hugs and kisses: The health impact of affective touch" https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323143.php

Mentioned articles:

Touch for socioemotional and physical well-being: A review

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273229711000025

MOTHERS, MACHINES, AND MORALS: HARRY HARLOW’S WORK ON PRIMATE LOVE FROM LAB TO LEGEND

http://individual.utoronto.ca/vicedo/vicedoca/Publications_files/Vicedo_Harlow.pdf

Related articles:

Affective and non-affective touch evoke differential brain responses in 2-month-old infants

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811917310467