Tickling, long treated as a quirky curiosity, is now gaining serious attention in neuroscience thanks to the work of researchers in the Netherlands. Tickling remains scientifically underexplored and one major mystery is why we can’t tickle ourselves; current thinking suggests the brain dampens the sensation when it predicts the stimulus, but the exact reasons remain unclear.
Researchers are investigating differences in ticklish responses among individuals, including those on the autism spectrum, who often report heightened sensitivity to touch. This could offer insights into how the autistic brain processes sensory input differently. There’s also speculation that children may be more ticklish than adults due to less social inhibition. .
The hope is that by studying tickling in a controlled, scientific way, researchers can unlock deeper understandings of human touch, development, and emotional connection potentially influencing how we think about everything from child development to therapeutic touch.