The specialized publication Neurocase includes the case of a patient (who has been studied by a team from the University of California) who suffers from a curious condition. She laughs when she sees other people being tickled.
But she does not do it because she thinks it’s funny, but because she herself experiences this sensation, even though nobody is touching her.
Likewise, he also experiences something similar when other people put their hand in cold water or touch velvet surfaces, etc.
According to specialists, women have what is clinically known as touch-mirror synesthesia, which defines those people who experience the same sensations that others feel.
In the case of this patient, the researchers conducted a series of experiments that showed that the woman’s reactions were more intense when she was being someone she knew well, or when she watched a video of herself, same as they were made.
But, why does this phenomenon occur? The researchers still do not know with absolute certainty, but the cause seems to be in the so-called mirror neurons.
They are activated whenever we see that someone touches something, but normally, the signal they produce is canceled by the other parts of the brain, helping us to differentiate what our “I” feels from what other people experience, people
Something that, for some reason, does not happen in those who experience touch-mirror synesthesia.
