Study finds that hand-holding reduces pain. Pavel Goldstein of the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder, recently set out to find the effects of physical touch between couples when one was in pain – ultimately supporting both the idea that couples hearts may “beat as one” and that physical touch can increase empathy and reduce pain. Goldstein’s team measured the brain activity of 22 heterosexual couples while they were in different rooms, the same room, and touching, and then all three conditions once again while the female partner experienced mild pain on her arms. It was revealed that just being in each other’s presence made their brain wavelength activity correlate, but this synchronization was interrupted when one partner experienced pain, and only resumed when they began to hold hands. The study also looked at the male partners’ empathy levels, discovering that they correlated with more intense brain synchronization and lower physical pain in the females. While all the other findings were supported by brain activity data, it was unclear in the experiment report how they measured empathy. However, the significance of this report is clear; as Goldstein put it, “We have developed a lot of ways to communicate in the modern world and we have fewer physical interactions. This paper illustrates the power and importance of human touch.” 

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