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Updated: Apr 8, 2026
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Using Facial Electromyography to Assess Facial Muscle Reactions to Experienced and Observed Affective Touch in Humans
Published on: March 15, 2019
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"Atypical touch perception in MTS may derive from an abnormally plastic self-representation"
Ilaria Bufalari1, Giuseppina Porciello, Salvatore Maria Aglioti
1a Dipartimento di Psicologia , Sapienza Università degli Studi di Roma , Rome , Italy.
Cognitive Neuroscience
|June 30, 2015
Summary
Mirror Touch Synesthesia (MTS) causes individuals to feel touch when observing others. This condition may stem from altered self-representation and atypical sensory integration, impacting the self-other boundary.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Mirror Touch Synesthesia (MTS) is a rare neurological condition.
- MTS involves experiencing tactile sensations when observing touch in others.
- Existing theories include Threshold Theory and Self-Other Theory.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the underlying mechanisms of Mirror Touch Synesthesia.
- To explore the role of self-representation and multisensory integration in MTS.
- To propose a neurobiological explanation for MTS based on behavioral and anatomical evidence.
Main Methods:
- Behavioral experiments assessing self-other merging and sharing.
- Analysis of anatomical alterations in the temporoparietal junction (rTPJ).
- Theoretical modeling integrating Threshold and Self-Other theories.
Main Results:
- Observing touch in MTSs triggers self-other merging, unlike non-MTSs who exhibit self-other sharing.
- MTSs show anatomical alterations in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ).
- These findings suggest a link between self-representation plasticity and multisensory processing in MTS.
Conclusions:
- Mirror Touch Synesthesia may result from abnormally plastic self-representation.
- Atypical multisensory integrative mechanisms likely contribute to MTS.
- The study provides a neurobiological framework for understanding MTS.
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