Summary: A study examines how interpersonal synchronization between partners can reduce pain through touch.
Source: University of Colorado at Boulder.
When Partners Touch: Heartbeat and Breathing Sync as Pain Eases
Expectant partners, take note: when a caring partner holds the hand of someone in pain, their heart and breathing rates can fall into sync—and the person in pain often reports less discomfort.
Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder report that interpersonal touch can restore physiological synchrony between partners during episodes of pain, and that this synchrony is associated with reduced pain. The study, led by postdoctoral researcher Pavel Goldstein and co-authored by Simone Shamay-Tsoory and Irit Weissman-Fogel, adds to growing evidence that social contact and empathy have measurable effects on the body.
Interpersonal synchronization is the tendency for people to subconsciously mirror each other’s behavior and physiology—matching posture, footsteps, heartbeats, breathing rhythms, and in some cases even brain activity. Previous research has shown that people synchronize while walking together, watching emotional films, singing in unison, or simply sharing time in each other’s presence. The new study is among the first to examine how this synchronization operates in the context of pain and touch between romantic partners.
Goldstein says the idea for the study was inspired by a personal moment: when his wife was in labor, he found that holding her hand seemed to ease her pain. That real-life observation led him to test the effect systematically in the lab.
The research involved 22 long-term heterosexual couples aged 23 to 32. In controlled experiments, men were assigned the role of observer and women the role of the person receiving pain. The researchers measured each partner’s heart rate and respiration while the couples experienced three conditions: sitting together without touching, sitting together while holding hands, and sitting in separate rooms. The same three conditions were repeated while the woman received a mild heat-induced pain on her forearm for two minutes.
Couples showed some level of physiological synchrony simply by sitting together. However, when the woman experienced pain and the partner could not touch her, that synchrony weakened or disappeared. When partners held hands during the painful stimulus, cardiorespiratory synchrony returned and the woman’s reported pain decreased.
Goldstein emphasizes that touch appeared to restore the physiological coupling that pain had interrupted. In earlier related work, his team found that greater partner empathy—assessed by separate tests—predicted stronger pain reduction during touch. In other words, when the observer showed higher empathy and when partners displayed stronger physiological synchrony during touch, the person in pain reported greater analgesia.
It remains unclear whether increased synchrony causes the pain relief or whether reduced pain leads to greater synchrony. One hypothesis is that touch acts as a channel for communicating empathy, which then produces analgesic effects. The authors suggest that these effects could involve brain areas such as the anterior cingulate cortex, which is implicated in pain perception, empathy, and autonomic functions like heart rate and breathing.
The researchers note several limitations and directions for future study. This experiment tested only heterosexual couples with the male partner as the observer; it did not evaluate same-sex couples or scenarios in which the male partner was the person in pain. The team also recorded brainwave activity and plans to report those findings separately.
Goldstein hopes these findings will contribute to nonpharmacological approaches to pain management. As healthcare providers and patients explore opioid-free pain relief options, a better understanding of how social touch and interpersonal synchrony influence pain could inform supportive care practices.
Funding: The study was supported by the Binational Science Foundation.
Source: Lisa Ann Marshall, University of Colorado at Boulder.
Original Research: “The role of touch in regulating inter-partner physiological coupling during empathy for pain” by Pavel Goldstein, Irit Weissman-Fogel & Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory, published in Scientific Reports, June 12, 2017. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03627-7.
Abstract
The role of touch in regulating inter-partner physiological coupling during empathy for pain
Human social behavior depends in part on the ability to synchronize with others. Recent work suggests physiological interpersonal synchronization may underlie this behavioral synchrony, but factors that influence physiological coupling remain underexplored. This study tested whether social touch and empathy for pain enhance inter-partner physiological coupling. Twenty-two romantic couples were assigned target (pain receiver) and observer roles across conditions that varied pain (pain/no-pain) and touch (touch/no-touch) while ECG and respiration were recorded. Results indicate that partner touch increased respiration coupling in both pain and no-pain conditions and increased heart rate coupling during pain. Pain reduced physiological coupling when partner touch was absent. High partner empathy and greater analgesia were associated with enhanced coupling during touch. These findings suggest social touch strengthens cardio-respiratory coupling between partners during pain and that these processes may contribute to touch-related analgesia via autonomic mechanisms.