Scientists have explained people's sensitivity to tickling

In the Touch and Tickle laboratory at Radboud University, volunteers are tickled by a special robot while researchers record their brain activity, breathing and sweating. The aim is to try to understand why a person is sensitive to tickling and what role it plays in the nervous system and social connections. This was reported on December 10 by NewScientist magazine.

"We can adjust the strength of the stimulation, the speed and the place of its effect on the foot. <...> The touch must be strong and very fast to be perceived as a tickle," explained the head of the laboratory, Konstantin Kilteni.

One of the objectives of the study was to unravel the reason for the inability to tickle oneself. As specified, the brain is able to predict the consequences of its own movements and suppress their sensory effect. That's why your own touch feels less intense. At the same time, in people with a disrupted prediction mechanism (for example, in schizophrenia) this suppression may not work.

Scientists have raised the question of human sensitivity to tickling. They suggested that the phenomenon of the action itself could have developed in one of the humanoid monkeys. It turned out that this is typical for chimpanzees and bonobos.

Researcher Elise Demuroux from the University of Lyon studied the corresponding behavior of bonobos and concluded that tickling is a child-oriented behavior, most often the elders are inclined to this action, and tickling itself, as it turned out, strengthens social ties.

"It's interesting because it's very similar to human behavior. And that means it's mostly infant-directed behavior. What we observed. The fact is that social connections have a very strong influence. Therefore, those [couples] who most often participate in tickling sessions are also [couples] who share very strong friendships," she clarified.

It is noted that even unwanted tickling can cause laughter. This phenomenon is called the tickling paradox: a person laughs, even if it is unpleasant. According to some researchers, this indicates the relationship of tickliness to physiological reflexes.

Another study by specialist Marlis Ostland from the University of Amsterdam has shown that mice can enjoy being tickled if they are comfortable. In this state, they also begin to make sounds similar to laughter.

This phenomenon is explained by the fact that both the animal and human brains are constantly making assumptions about the world around them and making decisions about what could pose a threat and what should be done in order to survive. According to Ostland, tickling involves stimulation, which contradicts assumptions, but when you feel a sense of security, such a surprise can cheer you up. This may explain why evolution has retained tickling as an adaptation mechanism.

In March, Izvestia reviewed the results of Sokolov's survey on love languages between partners. It was clarified that women have three languages in the lead — receiving words of support (25%), caring (24%) and time spent together (24%). Men, as it turned out, are more likely to choose praise and recognition (39%). The results also showed that 62% of women and 57% prefer their partner to express love in the same way as themselves.

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