Examining individual differences in patterns of touch appreciation in relation to psychological well-being and health

There are large inter-individual differences in the experience of sensory stimulation. We have previously shown that these differences are also related to later behavior. For example, subjects who initially rated a food odour as particularly pleasant also ate more of it after 50 minutes of odour presentation. In the present project, we aim to investigate patterns of change to pleasant touch and will test the hypothesis that these different patterns are related to psychological health and well-being. We will combine samples from Norway and Germany to comprehensively investigate this question in subjects with mental disorders, healthy subjects and the elderly. Physiological markers related to stress and arousal, subjective ratings, personality variables and behavior such as decision-making and emotion regulation will be collected. The project involves a close interaction of PhD students from different fields in all parts of the project as well as the establishment of a solid collaboration between the PIs. Moreover, it will lay the ground for a later application to the Horizon 2020 programme.