Haptic medicine is a form of alternative medicine

Alternative medicine

Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....

 which involves the study and application of maternal touch to support human health.

Current studies

The role of maternal touch in human health is the subject of a study in Canada known as MAVAN. Scientists working in Canada discovered the effects of maternal touch include modifying the expression of genes regulating stress and the development of neuron

Neuron

A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...

s in the hippocampus

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in...

 region of the brain.
Research scientists working with animal studies in Sweden showed tactile sensory stimulation effects include measurable changes in hormonal patterns and in cortisol

Cortisol

Cortisol is a steroid hormone, more specifically a glucocorticoid, produced by the adrenal gland. It is released in response to stress and a low level of blood glucocorticoids. Its primary functions are to increase blood sugar through gluconeogenesis; suppress the immune system; and aid in fat,...

, gastrin

Gastrin

In humans, gastrin is a peptide hormone that stimulates secretion of gastric acid by the parietal cells of the stomach and aids in gastric motility. It is released by G cells in the antrum of the stomach, duodenum, and the pancreas...

, cholecystokinin

Cholecystokinin

Cholecystokinin is a peptide hormone of the gastrointestinal system responsible for stimulating the digestion of fat and protein...

, somatostatin

Somatostatin

Somatostatin is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G-protein-coupled somatostatin receptors and inhibition of the release of numerous secondary hormones.Somatostatin...

, insulin

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....

, prolactin

Prolactin

Prolactin also known as luteotropic hormone is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PRL gene.Prolactin is a peptide hormone discovered by Henry Friesen...

, and oxytocin

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is a mammalian hormone that acts primarily as a neuromodulator in the brain.Oxytocin is best known for its roles in sexual reproduction, in particular during and after childbirth...

 

Further reading

• Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin (Paperback) by Ashley Montagu
  Ashley Montagu
  Montague Francis Ashley Montagu was a British-American anthropologist and humanist, of Jewish ancestry, who popularized topics such as race and gender and their relation to politics and development...
  
  , 3rd edition, Columbia University Press, 1971, ISBN 0-231-03488-1
• Haptic Medicine, Cindy Mason, Proc. 2009 Conference on Future Health Technology Institute, Boston, Mass.