In Touch with the Heartbeat
Newborns’ Cardiac Sensitivity to Affective and Non-Affective Touch
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15469182 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Letizia Della Longa (0000-0003-0159-3744, University of Padua), Danica Dragovic (Ospedale di Monfalcone), TERESA FARRONI (0000-0003-1876-3703, University of Padua, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 2212-2212 |
| Publication date | 2021-02-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph18052212 |
| PMID | 33668108 |
| OpenAlex | W3132440340 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 85 |
The sense of touch is the first manner of contact with the external world, providing a foundation for the development of sensorimotor skills and socio-affective behaviors. In particular, affective touch is at the core of early interpersonal interactions and the developing bodily self, promoting the balance between internal physiological state and responsiveness to external environment. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether newborns are able to discriminate between affective touch and non-affective somatosensory stimulations and whether affective touch promotes a positive physiological state. We recorded full-term newborns' (N = 30) heart rate variability (HRV)-which reflects oscillations of heart rate associated with autonomic cardio-respiratory regulation-while newborns were presented with two minutes of affective (stroking) and non-affective (tapping) touch alternated with two minutes of resting in a within-subject design. The results revealed that non-affective touch elicits a decrease in HRV, whereas affective touch does not result in a change of HRV possibly indicating maintenance of calm physiological state. Thus, newborns showed cardiac sensitivity to different types of touch, suggesting that early somatosensory stimulation represents scaffolding for development of autonomic self-regulation with important implications on infant's ability to adaptively respond to the surrounding social and physical environment
Affect (linguistics · Developmental psychology · Heart rate · Heart rate variability · Heartbeat · Resting state fMRI · Somatosensory system · Action Observation and Synchronization · Communication · Infant Health and Development · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · Tactile and Sensory Interactions
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| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |