English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Spontaneously touching one’s own face (sFST) is an everyday behavior that occurs in people of all ages, worldwide. It is—as opposed to actively touching the own face—performed without directing one’s attention to the action, and it serves neither instrumental (scratching, nose picking) nor communicative purposes. These sFST have been discussed in the context of self-regulation, emotional homeostasis, working memory processes, and attention focus. Even though self-touch research dates back decades, neuroimaging studies of this spontaneous behavior are basically nonexistent. To date, there is only one electroencephalography study that analyzed spectral power changes before and after sFST in 14 participants. The present study replicates the previous study on a larger sample. Sixty participants completed a delayed memory task of complex haptic relief stimuli while distracting sounds were played. During the retention interval 44 of the participants exhibited spontaneous face touch. Spectral power analyses corroborated the results of the replicated study. Decreased power shortly before sFST and increased power right after sFST indicated an involvement of regulation of attentional, emotional, and working memory processes. Additional analyses of spectral power changes during the skin contact phase of sFST revealed that significant neurophysiological changes do not occur while skin contact is in progress but at the beginning of sFST (movement toward face and initial skin contact). The present findings clearly illustrate the complexity of sFST and that the specific trigger mechanisms and functions of this spontaneous behavior need to be further investigated in controlled, experimental studies.

cognitive, affective and behavioral neuroscience

Cognitive and emotional regulation processes of spontaneous facial self-touch are activated in the first milliseconds of touch: Replication of previous EEG findings and further insights