Touch increases autonomic coupling between romantic partners

Interpersonal touch is of paramount importance in human social bonding and close relationships, allowing a unique channel for affect communication. So far the effect of touch on human physiology has been studied at an individual level. The present study aims at extending the study of affective touch from isolated individuals to truly interacting dyads. We have designed an ecological paradigm where romantic partners interact only via touch and we manipulate their empathic states. Simultaneously, we collected their autonomic activity (skin conductance, pulse, respiration). Fourteen couples participated to the experiment. We found that interpersonal touch increased coupling of electrodermal activity between the interacting partners, regardless the intensity and valence of the emotion felt. In addition, physical touch induced strong and reliable changes in physiological states within individuals. These results support an instrumental role of interpersonal touch for affective support in close relationships. Furthermore, they suggest that touch alone allows the emergence of a somatovisceral resonance between interacting individuals, which in turn is likely to form the prerequisites for emotional contagion and empathy.

• Publication year

  2014

• Venue

  Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

• Publication date

  2014-03-27

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00095PMID 24734009PMCID 3973922
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Autistic traits are associated with diminished neural response to affective touch.

  2013cited by this paper
• How accurate is pulse rate variability as an estimate of heart rate variability? A review on studies comparing photoplethysmographic technology with an electrocardiogram.

  2013cited by this paper
• Interpersonal body and neural synchronization as a marker of implicit social interaction

  2012cited by this paper
• Non-local mind from the perspective of social cognition

  2012cited by this paper
• Neural Synchronization during Face-to-Face Communication

  2012cited by this paper
• Gestural coupling and social cognition: Möbius Syndrome as a case study

  2012cited by this paper
• Heart rate variability is associated with emotion recognition: direct evidence for a relationship between the autonomic nervous system and social cognition.

  2012cited by this paper
• Improving standards in brain-behavior correlation analyses

  2012cited by this paper
• The influence of depressive symptomatology and perceived stress on plasma and salivary oxytocin before, during and after a support enhancement intervention.

  2011cited by this paper
• Randomization Tests

  2011cited by this paper
• Synchronized arousal between performers and related spectators in a fire-walking ritual

  2011cited by this paper
• The effect of relationship status on communicating emotions through touch

  2011cited by this paper
• Cardiac and Respiratory Patterns Synchronize between Persons during Choir Singing

  2011cited by this paper
• Vicarious Responses to Social Touch in Posterior Insular Cortex Are Tuned to Pleasant Caressing Speeds

  2011cited by this paper
• Conceptual challenges and directions for social neuroscience.

  2010cited by this paper
• The science of interpersonal touch: an overview.

  2010influential reference
• Neuroelectrical Hyperscanning Measures Simultaneous Brain Activity in Humans

  2010cited by this paper
• The skin as a social organ

  2010influential reference
• The neurophysiology of unmyelinated tactile afferents.

  2010cited by this paper
• The social role of touch in humans and primates: behavioural function and neurobiological mechanisms.

  2010cited by this paper
• A second-person approach to other minds

  2010cited by this paper
• Neural correlates of heart rate variability during emotion

  2009cited by this paper
• The communication of emotion via touch.

  2009influential reference
• Coding of pleasant touch by unmyelinated afferents in humans

  2009cited by this paper
• Empathie, contagion émotionnelle et coupure par rapport aux émotions : validation d’un test pour repérer et aider des élèves à risque

  2009cited by this paper
• Influence of a “Warm Touch” Support Enhancement Intervention Among Married Couples on Ambulatory Blood Pressure, Oxytocin, Alpha Amylase, and Cortisol

  2008cited by this paper
• Social coordination dynamics: Measuring human bonding

  2008cited by this paper
• Mirror-touch synesthesia is linked with empathy

  2007cited by this paper
• Integrating simulation and theory of mind: from self to social cognition.

  2007cited by this paper
• Touch communicates distinct emotions.

  2006cited by this paper
• Separating respiratory-variation-related fluctuations from neuronal-activity-related fluctuations in fMRI

  2006cited by this paper
• The empathic brain: how, when and why?

  2006influential reference
• Empathie, contagion émotionnelle et coupure par rapport aux émotions

  2005cited by this paper
• Assessment of pulse rate variability by the method of pulse frequency demodulation

  2005cited by this paper
• More frequent partner hugs and higher oxytocin levels are linked to lower blood pressure and heart rate in premenopausal women.

  2005cited by this paper
• Somatosensory activations during the observation of touch and a case of vision-touch synaesthesia.

  2005cited by this paper
• Measuring empathy: reliability and validity of the Empathy Quotient

  2004cited by this paper
• Warm Partner Contact Is Related to Lower Cardiovascular Reactivity

  2003cited by this paper
• Unmyelinated tactile afferents signal touch and project to insular cortex

  2002cited by this paper
• Empathy: Its ultimate and proximate bases.

  2001influential reference
• Massage therapy effects.

  1998cited by this paper
• Pre- and postnatal Haptonomic communication, affective security and development

  1997cited by this paper
• Touch

  1997cited by this paper
• Relations among personality scales of aggression, violence, and empathy: Validational evidence bearing on the risk of eruptive violence scale

  1997cited by this paper
• Heart rate variability: standards of measurement, physiological interpretation and clinical use. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology.

  1996cited by this paper
• Heart rate variability. Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology.

  1996cited by this paper
• Heart rate variability. Standards of measurement, physiological interpretation, and clinical use

  1996cited by this paper
• Empathy: a physiological substrate.

  1992cited by this paper
• Marital interaction: physiological linkage and affective exchange.

  1983influential reference
• Publication recommendations for electrodermal measurements.

  1981cited by this paper
• Nonverbal communication in human interaction

  1972cited by this paper
• Physiological study of personal interaction.

  1957cited by this paper
• Physiological Correlates of Tension and Antagonism During Psychotherapy: A Study of "Interpersonal Physiology"

  1957influential reference
• Physiological Study of Personal Interaction

  1956influential reference
• PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article Lending a Hand Social Regulation of the Neural Response to Threat

  year unknowncited by this paper

• Social touch deprivation during the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced well-being

  2026cites this paper
• Correlates of interpersonal physiological synchrony and sources of empirical heterogeneity

  2026cites this paper
• Women’s intuition as attunement: a biological and social perspective

  2025cites this paper
• Understanding Family Dynamics Through a Neurocognitive Lens

  2025cites this paper
• Physiological synchrony during meaningful moments of interaction: an exploratory study.

  2025cites this paper
• Interpersonal Physiological Linkage Between People With Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease and Their Informal Caregivers

  2025cites this paper
• Interpersonal Physiological Synchrony During Dyadic Joint Action Is Increased by Task Novelty and Reduced by Social Anxiety

  2025cites this paper
• Physiological attunement and flourishing: understanding the influence of relationships on health

  2025cites this paper
• The Touched Body and the Experience of Self.

  2025cites this paper
• "Exploring the impact of gentle stroking touch on psychophysiological regulation of inhibitory control".

  2025cites this paper
• The romantic loneliness scale (RomLon scale): the development and validation of a novel and brief measure to assess loneliness stemming from the absence of romance in dating, hookups, and marital relationships

  2025cites this paper
• The relationship of early life adversity and physiological synchrony within the therapeutic triad in horse-assisted therapy

  2025cites this paper
• A Research Framework to Develop a Real-Time Synchrony Index to Monitor Team Cohesion and Performance in Long-Duration Space Exploration

  2025cites this paper
• Physiological synchrony in supportive discussions: An examination of co‐rumination, relationship type, and heterogeneity

  2024cites this paper
• Relational Neuroscience: insights from hyperscanning research.

  2024cites this paper
• Coupling Up: A Dynamic Investigation of Romantic Partners’ Neurobiological States During Nonverbal Connection

  2024cites this paper
• Positive Humor/Affection and Age Advantages in Affective Responses During the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study

  2024cites this paper
• Sexual Synchrony During Partnered Sex

  2024cites this paper
• Affective Touch in Adult Relationships in the Light of Psychological Research. Excerpts

  2024cites this paper
• Social and nonsocial synchrony are interrelated and romantically attractive

  2024cites this paper
• Autonomic and hedonic response to affective touch in autism spectrum disorder

  2024cites this paper
• Estudio correlacional de calidez, empatía y optimismo en parejas con diabetes o cardiopatías

  2024cites this paper
• Inter-subject correlation of audience facial expressions predicts audience engagement during theatrical performances

  2024cites this paper
• Physiological Synchrony During Partnered Sexual Activity

  2024cites this paper
• How aging couples' emotional and physiological associations change across positive, supportive, and conflictual discussions: Roles of capitalization and responsive behaviors.

  2023cites this paper
• Receiving a Mediated Touch From Your Partner vs. a Male Stranger: How Visual Feedback of Touch and Its Sender Influence Touch Experience

  2023cites this paper
• Interpersonal heart rate synchrony predicts effective information processing in a naturalistic group decision-making task

  2023cites this paper
• Empathy

  2023cites this paper
• The physiological measurement and evaluation of empathy of video content

  2023influential citation
• Interpersonal heart rate synchrony predicts effective group 1 performance in a naturalistic collective decision-making task

  2023cites this paper
• Autonomic synchrony induced by hyperscanning interoception during interpersonal synchronization tasks

  2023cites this paper
• Hedonic and autonomic responses in promoting affective touch

  2023cites this paper
• Rapid Processing of Observed Touch through Social Perceptual Brain Regions: An EEG-fMRI Fusion Study

  2023cites this paper
• Pain perception and physiological responses are modulated by active support from a romantic partner.

  2023cites this paper
• Somatovisceral Influences on Emotional Development

  2023cites this paper
• Fitting Bayesian Stochastic Differential Equation Models with Mixed Effects through a Filtering Approach

  2023cites this paper
• Relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and annoyance, and linkage in electrodermal activity.

  2023cites this paper
• Effects of social presence on behavioural, neural and physiological aspects of empathy for pain

  2023cites this paper
• Vocalization and physiological hyperarousal in infant-caregiver dyads where the caregiver has elevated anxiety.

  2022cites this paper
• Bio-behavioral synchrony is a potential mechanism for mate selection in humans

  2022cites this paper
• Special Issue: Nonlinear Effects and Dynamics in Close Relationships

  2022cites this paper
• Close TIES in relationships: A dynamic systems approach for modeling physiological linkage

  2022cites this paper
• Social touch and allostasis

  2022cites this paper
• Az affektív érintés és a fizikai jóllét a COVID-19 járvány idején

  2022cites this paper
• Sharing Heartbeat: Toward Conducting Heartrate and Speech Rhythm through Tactile Presentation of Pseudo-heartbeats

  2022cites this paper
• Social touch experience in different contexts: a review.

  2021cites this paper
• Behavioural Strategies and their effectiveness in facilitating Psychophysiological Synchronization: a research protocol and literature review

  2021cites this paper
• Effects of Hand Holding on Anxiety and Pain During Prostate Biopsies: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

  2021cites this paper
• Decision Model for a Virtual Agent that can Touch and be Touched

  2021cites this paper
• Physiological activation and co-activation in an imagery-based treatment for test anxiety

  2021cites this paper
• Positive Massage: An Intervention for Couples’ Wellbeing in a Touch-Deprived Era

  2021cites this paper
• Musical improvisation enhances interpersonal coordination in subsequent conversation: Motor and speech evidence

  2021cites this paper
• Interpersonal autonomic nervous system synchrony and its association to relationship and performance - a systematic review and meta-analysis.

  2021cites this paper
• PPA_A_321175 1593..1600

  2021cites this paper
• Interpersonal Physiological Synchrony for Detecting Moments of Connection in Persons With Dementia: A Pilot Study

  2021cites this paper
• Non-Contact Measurement of Empathy Based on Micro-Movement Synchronization

  2021cites this paper
• Interbrain emotional connection during music performances is driven by physical proximity and individual traits

  2021cites this paper
• Physiological synchrony is associated with attraction in a blind date setting

  2021cites this paper
• Infant-adult synchrony in spontaneous and nonspontaneous interactions

  2020cites this paper
• Sexual function in adults with a history of childhood maltreatment: Mediating effects of self-reported autonomic reactivity.

  2020cites this paper
• ambienBeat: Wrist-worn Mobile Tactile Biofeedback for Heart Rate Rhythmic Regulation

  2020cites this paper
• Two-Person Approaches to Studying Social Interaction in Psychiatry: Uses and Clinical Relevance

  2020cites this paper
• Physical presence of spouse enhances brain-to-brain synchrony in co-parenting couples

  2020cites this paper
• Reduced task-dependent modulation of functional network architecture for positive versus negative affective touch processing in autism spectrum disorders

  2020cites this paper
• Critical Examination of the Parametric Approaches to Analysis of the Non-Verbal Human Behavior: A Case Study in Facial Pre-Touch Interaction

  2020cites this paper
• Physiological synchronization in the clinical process: A research primer.

  2020cites this paper
• Socially-relevant visual stimulation modulates physiological response to affective touch in human infants.

  2020cites this paper
• What’s in a Moment: What Can Be Learned About Pair Bonding From Studying Moment-To-Moment Behavioral Synchrony Between Partners?

  2020cites this paper
• Cortisol Synchrony in Older Couples: Daily Socioemotional Correlates and Interpersonal Differences

  2020cites this paper
• Knowing What Others Think and Feel: Empathic Accuracy Across Adulthood

  2020cites this paper
• Adversity History Predicts Self-Reported Autonomic Reactivity and Mental Health in US Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  2020cites this paper
• Quand et Comment Toucher un Humain ? Un Modèle de Décision pour un Agent Touchant

  2020cites this paper
• Physiological Considerations in Systemic Family Therapy

  2020cites this paper
• Interpersonal Neural Synchronization during Interpersonal Touch Underlies Affiliative Pair Bonding between Romantic Couples.

  2020cites this paper
• Cortisol synchrony in older couples : links with differential contexts, individual characteristics, and long-term outcomes

  2020influential citation
• Perspective-taking and cooperation in customer–supplier relationships

  2020cites this paper
• The Effect of Co-Verbal Remote Touch on Electrodermal Activity and Emotional Response in Dyadic Discourse

  2020cites this paper
• Leader brains? How to discover them, how to empower them

  2020cites this paper
• The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy

  2020cites this paper
• Forms and Functions of Affective Synchrony

  2020cites this paper
• ambienBeat

  2020cites this paper
• Physiological synchrony and therapeutic alliance in an imagery-based treatment.

  2019cites this paper
• An exploration of factors influencing human responses to short term interaction with a pet robot

  2019cites this paper
• Relational events are more consequential when accompanied by emotional similarity

  2019cites this paper
• Cooperative leadership in hyperscanning. Brain and body synchrony during manager-employee interactions

  2019cites this paper
• Discrimination Thresholds for Passive Tactile Volume Perception by Fingertips

  2019cites this paper
• Depression predicts interpersonal problems partially through the attitude towards social touch.

  2019cites this paper
• Facial Pre-Touch Space Differentiates the Level of Openness Among Individuals

  2019cites this paper
• Social touch, CT touch and massage therapy: A narrative review

  2019cites this paper
• Sensitivity to Social Contingency in Adults with High-Functioning Autism during Computer-Mediated Embodied Interaction

  2018cites this paper
• The Persistence of Established Dating Theories in a Real-Life Dyadic Blind Date Study

  2018cites this paper
• Individual differences in behavioural and physiological responses to affective touch

  2018cites this paper
• Arousal transmission and attenuation in mother–daughter dyads during adolescence

  2018cites this paper
• Social touch during development: Long-term effects on brain and behavior.

  2018cites this paper
• Physiological linkage to an interaction partner is negatively associated with stability in sympathetic nervous system responding.

  2018cites this paper
• Bodily-Contact Communication Medium Induces Relaxed Mode of Brain Activity While Increasing Its Dynamical Complexity: A Pilot Study

  2018cites this paper
• Psychophysiological Synchrony During Verbal Interaction in Romantic Relationships.

  2018cites this paper
• EEG oscillations during caress-like affective haptic elicitation.

  2018cites this paper
• On Measuring and Modeling Physiological Synchrony in Dyads

  2018cites this paper
• Brain-to-brain coupling during handholding is associated with pain reduction

  2018cites this paper