How Physical Contact Alters the Brains of Couple?

A new method for simultaneous imaging brain activity from two people, allowing them to study social interaction has been developed by scientists.

Two-person-together MRI scans on couples were used to investigate how touching is perceived in the brain. The study was carried out by Aalto University and Turku PET Centre researchers.

In a recent study, the researchers scanned brain activity from 10 couples. Each couple spent 45 minutes inside the MRI scanner in physical contact with each other. The objective of the study was to examine how social contact activates the brain. The results were published in the theme issue Social Interaction in Neuropsychiatry of the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Simple Hugging Could Make Your Marriage Rocking
Hugging, touching and stroking have long been known to exude positive effects on relationships.

‘During a conversation or problem solving, people's brain functions become flexibly linked with each other. However, we cannot understand the brain basis of real-time social interaction if we cannot simultaneously scan the brain functions of both persons involved in social interaction.’

"This is an excellent start for the study of natural interaction. People don't just react to external stimuli, but adjust their actions moment-by-moment based on what they expect to happen next," says Riitta Hari, emerita Professor at Aalto University.

Ordinary magnetic resonance imaging is used to scan one person at a time. In the device developed at Aalto University, the head coil used for regular brain scans was divided into two separate coils. This new design allows for simultaneous scanning of two brains, when the individuals are positioned close enough to each other inside the scanner. During scanning, the participants were face-to-face, almost hugging each other.

When instructed by the researchers, the subjects took turns in tapping each other's lips. Looking at the brain scans, the researchers could see that the motor and sensory areas of the couples' brains were activated.

Hugging Someone from the Left Side Demonstrates More Emotion
If you are feeling emotional, you are more likely to embrace others from the left side than from the right, a study has found.

Studying the fundamentals of human interaction

"During social interaction, people's brains are literally synchronized. The associated mental imitation of other people's movements is probably one of the basic mechanisms of social interaction. The new technology now developed will provide totally new opportunities for studying the brain mechanisms of social interaction," says Professor Lauri Nummenmaa from Turku PET Centre.

Hugging Keeps Your Baby Healthy
Mothers have different ways of bringing up a baby, but they shouldn't forget to hug their bundle of joy.

Source-Eurekalert

Nepalese Take Part in Tree Hugging Campaign to Celebrate World Environment Day
Hundreds of people in Nepal took part in a tree hugging campaign conducted with the aim of setting a new Guinness World Record.