Does affective touch buffer emotional distress? Insights from subjective and physiological indices

Affective touch, mediated by the activation of C-tactile afferents, has the potential to modulate affective states and physiological responses in situations of emotional distress across the lifespan. The present study aims to disentangle psychophysiological mechanisms supporting autonomic and emotional self-regulation, focusing on the possible buffering role of affective touch. Childless adult participants (N = 92) were presented with videos of an infant babbling (positive scene) and an infant crying (emotionally negative scene), followed by a tactile stimulation that was either affective (brushing) or non-affective (tapping). We collected subjective measures of affective state (valence and arousal) and physiological measures: heart rate (HR), HR variability (root mean square of successive differences [RMSSD] index), and stress index (SI). Participants reported a decrease in pleasantness and an increase in arousal during the crying video. Moreover, participants receiving affective touch showed an overall greater increase in pleasantness. At the physiological level, tactile stimulations elicited HR deceleration, reduction of SI, and return to baseline levels of RMSSD after emotional activation. These responses were more prominent in the affective touch group, suggesting that affective touch is effective in decreasing sympathetic activity and increasing vagal dominance. Our results indicate that affective touch may play a central role in autonomic and affective regulation, possibly buffering emotional distress.