Touch forms a central component of social bonding, both in primates and in humans, via the brain’s endorphin system. In primates, this involves social grooming, acting via the CT neuron system. Although humans still use soft touch for bonding relationships, they have had to find ways of triggering the endorphin system without the need for physical touch in order to be able to increase the size of their social groups beyond the size of those characteristic of monkeys and apes. These behaviors include laughter, singing, dancing, the rituals of religion, feasting and emotional storytelling, and act functionally as a form of ‘virtual touch’. I summarise recent behavioral, neurobiological and genetic evidence demonstrating that these behaviors both enhance bonding and act through the endorphin system.

触觉通过大脑的内啡肽系统形成了灵长类动物和人类社会联系的核心组成部分。在灵长类动物中，这涉及社交修饰，通过 CT 神经元系统起作用。尽管人类仍然使用柔软的触摸来建立关系，但他们必须找到无需身体接触即可触发内啡肽系统的方法，以便能够将其社会群体的规模扩大到超越猴子和猿类特征的规模. 这些行为包括笑声、唱歌、跳舞、宗教仪式、盛宴和情感故事，并在功能上充当“虚拟接触”的一种形式。我总结了最近的行为、神经生物学和遗传学证据，证明这些行为既可以增强联系，又可以通过内啡肽系统发挥作用。