Power of Touch
The beneficial effects of touch on the emotional, cognitive and social development of the child are well known. After birth, during the first period of life, infants need above all direct physical contact with their mother. Her touch calms and provides a sense of security. The sense of touch is the primal tool of communication between a newborn baby and the outside world.
Touch is one of the senses particularly important in the continuous process contributing to the perception of other sensations. Touch has been one of the dominant senses during evolution, it is the prevailing sensation at birth and its importance for human functioning during the rest of life is more decisive than is commonly believed.
Stimuli and Receptors
Tactile information comes to us through sensory cells called receptors, located in our skin from head to toe. Sensations of light touch, pressure, stretching of the skin, vibration, movement, temperature and pain induce receptor activation. These sensations are external and are the result of stimuli outside our body
This sensory system connects us to the outside world and other people. Touch is a source of vital information for body awareness, motor planning, visual discrimination, language, school learning, emotional security and social skills.
The tactile system has two functions. The first is the protective (or defensive) one. Its main task is to sensitise us to potential harmful (or beneficial) stimuli. The touch receptors that perform the protective function are located primarily on the hairy skin of the head, face and genitalia. Their response is triggered by a light touch stimulus. Typically, the modulation of tactile sensations improves in the course of our interactions with other people and objects. We learn to inhibit impressions that are not meaningful and ignore those of light touch that does not pose a threat to us or evoke unpleasant sensations (e.g. pain). The second component of the tactile system teaches us to discriminate what kind of touch we feel. The receptors responsible for tactile discrimination are located in the skin, especially on the palms and tips of the fingers, soles of the feet, lips and tongue. A strong touch or tactile pressure is the stimulus that activates these receptors.
