Biological O

Affective touch 

• touch fundamental to human interactions, eg. cuddles, handshake, pat on back
• researchers picked two opposite sex pps and paired, asked to touch each other intimately, increased desire

What does touch do?

• Oxytocin
• > receptors found across brain areas, eg. amygdala
• > when brain flushed with oxytocin, can see behvioural effects such as increased trust, empathy, pair bonding
• > secreted from pituitary gland and has effects to facilitate childbirth and child rearing, eg lactation, weaning, but this oxytocin can't reenter the brain as it can't cross the blood brain barrier
• > in parent-child bonding, oxytocin increased from early to late pregnancy correlated with higher maternal bonding (Levine, 2007)

Chemotransduction

• sensory transduction where sensory stimulus is converted from one form to another, eg. movement of a hair fires a certain cell, sends info to brain that says i'm being touched
• allows for detection of chemicals in environment
• chemicals activate chemoreceptors that alter membrane potential of cell
• applies to taste (gustation) and smell (olfaction)

Sensing an odour

• chemical…