Infants' facial electromyographic responses to the sight of emotional interpersonal touch

Adult studies have shown that observed interpersonal touch provides crucial information about others' emotional states. Yet, despite the unique communicative function of touch during development, very little is known about infants' sensitivity to the emotional valence of observed touches....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infancy 2024-09, Vol.29 (5), p.660-671
Main Authors: Addabbo, Margaret, Licht, Victoria, Turati, Chiara
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electromyography
Emotions - physiology
Facial Expression
Facial Muscles - physiology
Female
Humans
Infant
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Smiling - physiology
Touch - physiology
Touch Perception - physiology
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Summary:Adult studies have shown that observed interpersonal touch provides crucial information about others' emotional states. Yet, despite the unique communicative function of touch during development, very little is known about infants' sensitivity to the emotional valence of observed touches. To investigate this issue, we measured facial electromyographic (EMG) activity in response to positive (caress) and negative (scratches) observed touches in a sample of 11‐month‐old infants. Facial EMG activity was measured over the zygomaticus major (ZM) and corrugator supercilii muscles, respectively involved in positive (i.e., smiling) and negative (i.e., frowning) facial expressions. Results have shown distinct activations of the ZM during the observation of scratches and caresses. In particular, significantly greater activation of the ZM (smiling muscle) emerged specifically in response to the observation of caresses compared to scratches. Our finding suggests that, in infancy, observed affective touches can evoke emotional facial reactions.
ISSN:1525-0008
1532-7078
1532-7078
DOI:10.1111/infa.12600