ReviewThe social role of touch in humans and primates: Behavioural function and neurobiological mechanisms
Section snippets
What is grooming for?
Grooming, in primates as in most species, is all about physical touch. The actions are typically bimanual, involving sweeps with one hand interspersed with plucking movements by the other (Sparks, 1967). The plucking movements are directed at skin debris (scabs, skin flakes), spots, blemishes, and the occasional ectoparasite such as a tick or leech, or at vegetation caught in the fur. These movements have two particular characteristics: they are very rhythmic, and the plucking often involves
The social brain and the nature of primate relationships
Primates have unusually large brains for body size compared to other vertebrate groups, and over the past decade or so there has been considerable interest in why this should be. The consensus is now that the explanation lies in the complexity of primate social life. Originally proposed as the Machiavellian Intelligence Hypothesis (Byrne and Whiten, 1988), this was subsequently developed in quantitative form as the social brain hypothesis based on a demonstration that both social group and
The psychopharmacology of grooming
One of the striking behavioural features of grooming in those species that devote very substantial amounts of time to this activity is the fact that an animal who is being groomed can become so relaxed it can quite literally fall asleep. This seems to reflect the fact that social grooming has a number of physiological effects that include a reduction in the heart rate and a lowering of behavioural indices of stress (indexed as rates of scratching and yawning) (Goosen, 1981). Schino et al. (1988)
Discussion
Taken together, these findings suggest that oxytocin (but not vasopressin?) might function in a similar way to endorphins in producing a sense of calmness and contentedness. However, if so, it is far from clear what the causal sequence is here, since most of the circumstances that stimulate the production of oxytocin (mating, birth, breastfeeding, stroking) all involve mechanical stress, and are thus also likely to trigger the release of endorphins. Since neuroendocrines often operate in
References (96)
- et al.
The oxytocin antagonist 1-deamino-2-d-Tyr(Oet)-4-Thr-8-Orn oxytocin reverses the increase in the withdrawal response latency to thermal, but not mechanical stimuli following oxytocin administration or massage-like stroking in rats
Neurosci. Lett.
(1995) - et al.
Neural correlates of pair-bonding in a monogamous primate.
Brain Res.
(2007) - et al.
The VIa vasopressin receptor is necessary and sufficient for normal social recognition: a gene replacement study
Neuron
(2005) - et al.
Genes, brains and mammal social bonds
Trends Ecol. Evol.
(2005) - et al.
Maternal time budgets of gelada baboons
Anim. Behav.
(1988) Peptides in the limbic system: neurochemical codes for coordinated adaptive responses to behavioural and physiological demand
Progr. Neurobiol.
(1993)Neuropeptide families and their receptors: evolutionary perspectives
Brain Res.
(1999)Is social attachment an addictive disorder?
Physiol. Behav.
(2003)- et al.
Neuropeptides and the evolution of social behavior
Curr. Opin. Neurobiol.
(2000) - et al.
Beta-endorphin concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of monkeys are influenced by grooming relationships
Psychoneuroendocrinology
(1989)
Neocortex size and social network size in primates
Anim. Behav.
Group size, grooming and social cohesion in primates
Anim. Behav.
More frequent partner hugs and higher oxytocin levels are linked to lower blood pressure and heart rate in premenopausal women
Biol. Psychol.
Comparative neuroanatomy of vasotocin and vasopressin in amphibians and other vertebrates
Comp. Biochem. Physiol. C Pharmacol. Toxicol. Endocrinol.
Brain structures of infant–mother attachment: contributions of opioids, oxytocin, and norepinephrine
Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.
Involvement of opioid and dopaminergic systems in isolation-induced pinning and social grooming of young rats
Neuropharmacology
The evidence for pain perception in fish: the use of morphine as an analgesic
Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci.
Endogenous morphine
Trends Neurosci.
Neuroendocrinology of the mother-child interaction
Trends Endocrinol. Metab.
Oxytocin may mediate the benefits of positive social interaction and emotions
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Low doses of β-endorphin increase social contacts of rats tested in dyadic encounters
Life Sci.
Enhanced social interaction in rates following chronic, centrally infused oxytocin
Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.
Focused grooming networks and stress alleviation in wild female baboons
Hormones Behav.
Oxytocin and vasopressin receptors and species-typical social behaviors
Horm. Behav.
Galactorrhea-amenorrhea: psychological interaction with neuroendrocrine function
Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol.
Social suppression of reproduction in subordinate talapoin monkeys, Miopitehcus talapoin
Baboon Mothers and Infants
Anxiety and stress responses in female oxytocin deficient mice
J. Neuroendocrin.
Central function of oxytocin
Neurosci. Biobehav.
Inclusion of other in the self scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness
J. Pers. Soc. Psych.
The utility of grooming in primate troops
Grooming site preferences in primates and their functional significance
Int. J. Primatol.
Evolution of the social brain
Enkephalin may mediate euphoria and drive-reduction reward
Nature
Profound impairment in social recognition and reduction in anxiety-like behavior in vasopressin V1a receptor knockout mice
Psychoneuroendocrinology
A functional analysis of social grooming patterns through direct comparison with self-grooming in rhesus monkeys
Int. J. Primatol.
The use and meaning of touch in caring for patients with cancer
Oncol. Nurs. Forum
Suppression of oestrogen-induced LH surges by social subordination in talapoin monkeys
Nature
Mother-infant bonding and the evolution of mammalian social relationships
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond.
The effect of allopreening on tick burdens on moulting eudyptid penguins
Auk
Relational message interpretations of touch, conversational distance and posture
J. Nonverbal Behav.
Interpretations, evaluations, and consequences of interpersonal touch
Human Commun. Res.
Neocortex size predicts deception in primates
Proc. R. Soc. Lond.
Physiological substrates of mammalian monogamy: the prairie vole model
Neurosci. Biobehav.
The effects of oxytocin and vasopressin on partner preference in male and female voles (Microtus ochrogaster)
Behav. Neurosci.
Relative power and the maintenance of rank
A neurobehavioral model of affiliative bonding: implications for conceptualizing a human trait of affiliation
Behav. Brain Sci.
Cited by (541)
Out of touch? How trauma shapes the experience of social touch – Neural and endocrine pathways
2024, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral ReviewsFrom pathology to pleasure: Reframing mechanistic studies on same-sex sexual behavior in primates
2024, Hormones and BehaviorThe 4C model of healthy sleep for childhood interpersonal trauma
2024, Children and Youth Services ReviewOn artificial intelligence and global mental health
2024, Asian Journal of PsychiatryNeural mechanisms of comforting: Prosocial touch and stress buffering
2023, Hormones and BehaviorObservational measures of caregiver's touch behavior in infancy: A systematic review
2023, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews