New research from Finland: Hug more and synchronize your brains…
Wednesday, August 2, 2023.
Recent advances in neuroscience explain the bio-mechanics of intimacy
I’ve written about the power of human hugs in an earlier post. Now there is a new way of scanning brains in tandem using dual brain coils. The new technology tells us that human brain patterns synchronize when humans hug.
This new technology has permitted simultaneous fMRI scans of two humans lying close together for the very first time.
We now know, as a result of this study, that humans living in close proximity will synchronize their brain activity into similar patterns. Human brains naturally tune in to each other in this kind of simple human interaction. But wait there’s more!
Many other bodily functions, such as cortisol levels, also synchronize when humans are in close proximity, which has already been demonstrated by earlier research.
Future neuroscience research will examine a specific region of the brain which appears to activate when humans live in close contact.
Professor Lauri Nummenmaa, study co-author, said:
“During social interaction, people’s brains are literally synchronized.
The associated mental imitation of other people’s movements is probably one of the basic mechanisms of social interaction.
The new technology now developed will provide totally new opportunities for studying the brain mechanisms of social interaction.”
How the study was designed
For the study, 10 couples spent 45 minutes inside a new fangled dual coil brain scanner together in close physical contact. The scanner is able to notice how both brains change in real time.
Some were intimate partners, but others were just close friends. The researchers were not exclusively focused on couples, their primary interest was in learning how social interaction activates the human brain.
I found this next part fascinating. Because of the new tehnology being used for the first time, the dyad of study subjects then took turns tapping each other’s lips. This was to test how the motor and sensory cortices of their respective human brains responded.
The emerging findings from two-person neuroscience
The results showed that human brains have a tendency to synchronize with one other.
Professor Riitta Hari, study co-author, said:
“This is an excellent start for the study of natural interaction. People don’t just react to external stimuli, but adjust their actions moment-by-moment based on what they expect to happen next.”
The study developed a new kind of fMRI device capable of scanning two human brains at the same time. This new technology of 2-person neuroscience will be employed in future studies to explore how the human brain activates in real time during dyadic social interactions.
Professor Hari summed it up:
“For example, during a conversation or problem solving, people’s brain functions become flexibly linked with each other.
However, we cannot understand the brain basis of real-time social interaction if we cannot simultaneously scan the brain functions of both persons involved in social interaction.”
This research confirms the wisdom I discussed in a earlier post, 7 Intimacy Hacks that are Wicked Hard To Do.
Learn about intimacy hacks. Notice how your bodies respond to reach other. It can be a wonderful, and natural tool for self-regulation and co-regulation.
Bestow gratuitous hugs upon your beloved today!
Thrive well, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
Imaging Real-Time Tactile Interaction With Two-Person Dual-Coil fMRI
Ville Renvall Jaakko Kauramäki Sanna Malinen Riitta Hari Lauri Nummenmaa
Front. Psychiatry, 28 April 2020
Sec. Social Neuroscience
Volume 11 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00279 (Renvall et al., 2020).
