Summary: Changes in skin temperature play a key role in how intensely we experience our body as our own. Thermoception influences emotions, identity, and mental health by acting as a direct “skin-to-brain” pathway that supports bodily self-awareness.
Alterations in thermal perception are related to alterations in body ownership in conditions such as stroke, anorexia, depression, and trauma-related disorders. These insights open avenues for sensory therapies, more natural-feeling prosthetics, and new ways to understand climate-related effects on cognition and mood.
Key facts
Skin-brain pathway: Temperature signals directly shape bodily self-awareness and emotional connection. Clinical relevance: Altered thermal perception is related to altered body ownership in several neurological and mental health conditions. Therapeutic potential: Findings can guide sensory interventions, prosthetic design and rehabilitation.
Source: Queen Mary University of London
As winter approaches, you may start to notice that your fingers and toes freeze when you go outside, or that your face turns red when you enter a heated building. In these moments of temperature change, we become more aware of our body.
Until now, body temperature was considered a purely physiological signal. But a new review published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences looks at how “thermoception” (our perception of changes in skin temperature, like a warm hug or a chill in the air) influences how strongly we experience our bodies as “our own.”
The article, by Dr Laura Crucianelli, Professor of Psychology at Queen Mary University of London and Professor Gerardo Salvato at the University of Pavia, reviews decades of research in neuroscience, psychology and clinical science. The findings expand the neuroscience of body self-awareness to include temperature, revealing a previously overlooked pathway through which the body communicates with the brain.
The researchers propose that the link between thermoception and body temperature regulation contributes not only to survival and comfort, but also affects emotions, identity and mental health.
“Temperature is one of our oldest senses,” says Dr. Crucianelli. “Heat is one of the first signs of protection: we feel it in the womb, in early care, and every time someone hugs us. It keeps us alive, but it also helps us feel like ourselves. By studying how the brain interprets heat and cold, we can begin to understand how the body shapes the mind.”
Disrupted body awareness is a feature of several mental health conditions, including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders. Sufferers may feel a sense of detachment or disconnection from themselves. Clinical evidence from stroke, anorexia nervosa, and body integrity dysphoria shows that alterations in thermal perception can accompany alterations in body ownership.
Dr. Salvato says: “For example, we now know from experimental studies that thermal signals play a critical role in clinical conditions. People with altered temperature regulation and perception, due to a stroke, can develop pathological conditions where they do not recognize part of their body as their own.”
Beyond the laboratory, these findings have broad implications. Understanding the contribution of thermal signals and skin-to-brain dialogue opens potential new avenues for identifying vulnerability mechanisms and developing sensory interventions for mental health. For example, it can improve the rehabilitation of neurological patients, inform the design of prosthetics that feel more natural, and guide mental health interventions.
The review also highlights the potential impact of climate change and exposure to extreme temperatures on body awareness and cognition. Drs Crucianelli and Salvato add: “As global temperatures rise, understanding how heat and cold shape our relationship with ourselves may help explain changes in mood, stress and body awareness in everyday life.”
So why do warm hugs make us feel good about ourselves?
“When we hug, the combination of tactile and thermal cues increases our sense of ownership of the body, so we are more connected to our embodied sense of self,” says Dr. Crucianelli. “Feeling a warm touch on the skin enhances our ability to sense ourselves from the inside and recognize our own existence. We feel: ‘this is my body and I am rooted in it.'”
Scientifically speaking, warm interpersonal touch activates specialized C tactile afferents and thermosensitive pathways that project to the insular cortex, facilitating interoceptive signaling associated with safety and affect regulation. This sensory information is accompanied by the release of oxytocin and a reduction in physiological stress, which promotes social bonds and improves body self-awareness and, ultimately, well-being.
In other words, “warm touch reminds us that we are connected, valued, and part of a social world,” says Dr. Crucianelli. “Humans are programmed for social closeness and hugs briefly dissolve the boundary between ‘self’ and ‘other’.”
Key questions answered:
A: Thermal cues shape bodily self-awareness by reinforcing the feeling that the body belongs to us, influencing identity, grounding, and emotional regulation.
A: Disturbances appear in stroke, anorexia, depression, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders, where individuals may experience detachment or decreased ownership of the body.
A: Understanding thermal pathways could improve sensory-based mental health interventions, improve prosthetic design, and support rehabilitation strategies for neurological patients.
Editorial notes:
This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor. Magazine article reviewed in its entirety. Additional context added by our staff.
About this research news on emotions and temperature.
Author: Katy Taylor-Gooby
Source: Queen Mary University of London
Contact: Katy Taylor-Gooby – Queen Mary University of London
Image: Image is credited to Neuroscience News.
Original research: Open access.
“Shaping bodily self-awareness through thermosensory signals” by Laura Crucianelli et al. Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Abstract
Shaping bodily self-awareness through thermosensory signals
Cutaneous thermosensory signals are a fundamental component of human evolution and individual development, supporting physiological regulation and survival.
Recent clinical and behavioral evidence suggests that thermal signals from the skin contribute to the construction of body ownership.
The insular and parietal cortices may underlie the relationship between cutaneous thermosensory signals and body ownership.
Understanding how thermosensory signals shape body ownership offers translational insights with implications for neurorehabilitation, prosthetic embodiment, and human adaptation to environmental change.
