Touch: The Science of the Hand, Heart, and Mind

The New York Times–bestselling author of The Compass of Pleasure examines how our sense of touch is interconnected with our emotions

Dual-function receptors in our skin make mint feel cool and chili peppers hot. Without the brain’s dedicated centers for emotional touch, an orgasm would feel more like a sneeze—convulsive, but not especially nice. From skin to nerves to brain, the organization of our body’s touch circuits is a complex and often counterintuitive system that affects everything...