Touch – The Scientist In Me

Have you ever wondered how we as humans work? How we feel, taste, see, hear or even smell? Well, there are some great resources available to read which are just a Google search away. If however, you wanted a couple of videos which can explain and get you up to speed on how we as humans we interact with our surroundings, then 5 videos below will definitely be of help.

The videos below cover all the five major senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. They were produced by Neuro Transmissions/Alie Astrocyte.

How do we see?

If you’ve wondered how we see, Alie explains everything involved in the visual system as well as how information that comes from light is translated into something useful using your brain.

How do we hear?

A very informative video explained by Alie on how our ears translates all sound in our surrounding and how we use it in everything that we do.

How do we smell?

Scent is very important, it allows us to distinguish between different things even when we’re blindfolded. Alie explains everything about smell and the nitty gritty of how it related to neuroscience.

How do we taste?

Taste, one of the major sensory functions in our body, it allows us to distinguish between something that tastes totally disgusting to something nice like ice cream. Alie explains everything from the amazing receptors and how they can detect taste.

How do we feel?

Fantastic video which covers everything from touch to feel. Touch is a very important factor, it is what keeps is safe from harm such as something that may be too cold or too hot. Alie cover it all in this great video.

After watching the above videos, I learned a lot, especially how the five senses all related greatly to neuroscience, on top of which the videos are very well done and very informative. If you feel like you’ve learnt a thing a two, tell us in the comment section. Be sure to subscribe to the Neuro Transmissions YouTube channels if you want to see more amazing science videos.

So you know, I’m not associated with the channel or person, I liked the videos and the wealth of information they provide, so felt like sharing these.

Lets get psychological for a second here, the folks at Cornegie Mellon University tested whether hugs act as a form of social support, aids protecting stressed people from getting sick such as a cold. The findings were published in the Association for Psychological Science journal.

Sheldon Cohen and his team chose hugging as a social support example because they’re a marker of having a more intimate and close relationship with another person. They already knew that those who have some social support are partly protected from the effects of stress on the psychological state of the individual, such as depression and anxiety.

On the 404 healthy adults tested, a telephoned questionnaire was done whereby these adults are asked during a 14 day period their state is. This included the frequency of conflicts and receiving hugs. These participants were intentionally exposed to a common cold virus and monitored in quarantine to assess the progress of infection, and if they develop any signs and symptoms.

The results showed that those who had social support had a reduced risk of infection associated compared to those who were associated with conflicts. It also showed those that were infected, those with greater social support and more frequent hugs results in a less severe illness symptom.

Cohen mentions “that being hugged by a trusted person may act as an effective means of conveying support and that increasing the frequency of hugs might be an effective means of reducing the deleterious effects of stress”. He goes on to also state, “The apparent protective effect of hugs may be attributable to the physical contact itself or to hugging being a behavioral indicator of support and intimacy.”

So to conclude, those who receive more hugs are generally more protected from infections, even if it allows for skin to skin contact, it psychologically aids in improving the well being of that individual. Give a hug, get a hug.

Source: Hugs Help Protect Against Colds by Boosting Social Support

Image: Free Hugs

Tag: Touch

The Five Senses and Neuroscience