RESEARCH FINDS (AGAIN!) INFANTS SENSITIVE TO PLEASANT TOUCH
Cognitive neuroscientist Merle Fairhurst and colleagues of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, Germany, knew that previous studies with adults show that a specific type of touch receptor is activated in response to a particular stroking velocity, leading to the sensation of “pleasant” touch. They hypothesized that this type […]
INFANT MASSAGE: STRESS AND RELAXATION
Infant massage is one tool we have to help reshape our child’s interpretations of the world, to release her pain, grief, and fear, and to open her up to love and joy. Touch meets a baby’s needs for physical contact, affection, security, stimulation, and movement. Skin-to-skin contact is especially effective, such as during breastfeeding, bathing, […]
TOUCH INFLUENCES HOW INFANTS LEARN LANGUAGE
Tickling a baby’s toes may be cute but according to studies it’s also possible that those touches could help babies learn the words in their language. Research from Purdue University shows that a caregiver’s touch can help babies to find words in the continuous stream of speech. “We found that infants treat touches as if […]
Brain Connections High In Premature Infants
A new discovery which may enable researchers to better comprehend the rationale behind the increased association of premature births and neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention deficit disorders and autism spectrum disorders is that connections in the different regions of the brain are altered in premature infants. The researchers of a new study from the King’s […]
Study Says Massage Benefits Kids with Autism
According to a newly published report, A massage treatment developed for children who have autism can lessen its severity by a third in the first five months after diagnosis, making the treatment an effective early intervention. Dr. Louisa Silva, founder of the Oregon-based Qigong Sensory Training Institute and a visiting professor at Western Oregon University […]
“Pleasant Touch” Helps Build the Physical, Emotional, and Social Links Essential to Bonding
There are two studies whose results are that “pleasant touch” is good for babies. They say that a gentle touch or caress, deemed “pleasant touch,” stimulates a baby’s senses and induces a response indicative of parent-infant bonding. The data says that new research into the matter now finds that these interactions are not only important […]