David J. Linden
Viking, January 2015
Touch, like the other senses enjoyed by human and nonhuman animals alike, is a complex channel through which we experience the world. It is not merely a way to feel pain or pleasure, heat or cold. It is a sensation intimately tied to emotion, memory, and social interaction. Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist David Linden tackles the multilayered sense in his latest book, Touch.
With a novelist’s flair for anecdote, Linden unpacks the science behind touch by revealing how the sense informs and motivates us in everyday situations. A lover’s caress, the sting of a chili pepper, the satisfying scratching of an itch—all spark intricate touch circuitry that extends from skin to nerves to brain. Linden explores the past and ...
