Neurobiology Blog Post #1

 

The TED Talk that I watched was from neuroscientist David Linden, and it was titled, “The Science of Touching and Feeling.” Within this video, Dr. Linden implores the severity of the sensation of touch. Although there are five major senses, he states that touch is one of, if not, the most important sense, because it immediately correlates with memory and emotion. The main example Dr. Linden refers to is an orphanage in Romania in 1970, during the Ceausescu Regime. The children within this orphanage did not receive any touch during their infancy, due to the institute being understaffed. Children that did not experience any tactile interactions suffered self soothing rocking motions, cognitive delays, attachment disorders, stunted growth, and issues regarding their immune and digestive system. Later on, once volunteers began to dedicate thirty minutes a day to interact with the children, then the institute began to notice drastic changes. However, the intervention of touching was only effective if it was within the first two years of life of the child. Touch is a “social glue,” and it creates bonds of empathy and trust. He states that there is no sensation without emotion, because of the way our body is wired. Nerves throughout our body send information to the spinal cord and then the brain, where it is processed by two systems: somatosensory and posterior insula system. The somatosensory system is descriptive and factual, while the posterior insula deals with emotional touch. This concept correlates with neuroplasticity with the impact of creating new synaptic connections to experiencing certain feelings or memories while touching an object. This shows that the power of touch can negatively or positively affect the individual, in which their brain will naturally form new synapses that will be able to use in the future.