Relation between maternal affective touch and neural activation in the temporoparietal area among 6 months infants.

• Grant number: 23/11527-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2023
• End date: October 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Human Development Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Ana Alexandra Caldas Osório
• Grantee: Valentina Franco Gomes
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (UPM). Instituto Presbiteriano Mackenzie. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/06693-4 - The importance of social touch for infant social-emotional development: integrating neuroimaging, psychophysiological, endocrine, and behavioral evidence, AP.JP2

Abstract

Touch is a fundamental aspect of maternal care and the mother-infant bonding, with studies demonstrating its importance and positive outcomes in infant's development. Furthermore, research demonstrates that the neural response for affective touch includes not only somatosensory areas but also social areas of the brain, including regions of the temporal parietal cortex, however the investigation about the neural correlates of touch among infants is scarce. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the correlation between maternal affective touch (frequency and duration) and activation on temporoparietal cortex to maternal touch among 6 months-old infants. To evaluate infant's neural activation the technic Functional near- infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will be used with the following areas of interest (bilaterally): medial temporal gyrus, temporal sulcus superior and posterior, and the temporoparietal junction. The following procedure will be followed: a researcher will apply the touch with her hand on the infant's shoulder intercalating between touch and no touch. During the procedure the mother will be seated next to the infant and the researcher applying the touch will be hidden. The maternal affective touch will be evaluated by the analyses of mother- baby interaction videos, using a coding system previously developed.