Scientists are uncovering how temperature shapes our sense of bodily self, revealing that warmth and cold do far more than keep us comfortable. Credit: Shutterstock

Researchers are uncovering how temperature influences the way we perceive our own bodies, offering new insight into the “skin-to-brain” signals that shape bodily awareness. This growing understanding may support the development of sensory-based treatments for mental health and could help create prosthetic devices that feel more natural to users.

Scientists are increasingly finding that temperature changes do more than make us feel hot or cold. Recent research shows that shifts in warmth at the skin influence how clearly we sense our own bodies, offering new insight into the “skin-to-brain” signals that help shape bodily awareness.

These insights point to a broad spectrum of possible uses, from sensory-based approaches to support mental health to prosthetic devices designed to feel more naturally integrated with the body.

As winter approaches, you may find your fingers and toes becoming painfully cold outdoors or feel your face grow hot when you step into a heated room. In these moments when the surrounding temperature changes, people often become more aware of their own bodies.

Traditionally, body temperature has mostly been viewed as a straightforward physiological process. A new review in Trends in Cognitive Sciences challenges this narrow view by examining ‘thermoception’, the perception of changes in skin temperature such as the comfort of a warm hug or the sting of a cold breeze, and how this perception shapes the experience of the body as “our own.”

The review, written by Dr. Laura Crucianelli, Lecturer in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London, and Professor Gerardo Salvato of the University of Pavia, synthesizes decades of work in neuroscience, psychology, and clinical research. Their analysis brings temperature into the scientific picture of bodily self-awareness and identifies an important, previously under-recognized route through which the body sends information to the brain.

According to the authors, the connection between thermoception and the regulation of body temperature supports basic survival and physical comfort, but it also appears to influence emotional life, the sense of personal identity, and aspects of mental health.

An Ancient Sense With Deep Psychological Impact

“Temperature is one of our most ancient senses,” says Dr. Crucianelli. “Warmth is one of the earliest signals of protection – we feel it in the womb, in early caregiving, and whenever someone holds us close. It keeps us alive, but it also helps us feel like ourselves. By studying how the brain interprets warmth and cold, we can begin to understand how the body shapes the mind.”

Altered body awareness is a feature of several mental health conditions, including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders. Sufferers can feel a sense of detachment or disconnection from themselves. Clinical evidence from stroke, anorexia nervosa, and body integrity dysphoria shows that disruptions in thermal perception may accompany disturbances in body ownership.

Dr. Salvato says: “For example, we now know from experimental studies that thermal signals play a fundamental role in clinical conditions. People with altered temperature regulation and temperature perception, due to a brain stroke, may develop pathological conditions according to which they do not recognize part of their bodies as belonging to themselves.”

From Prosthetics to Mental Health

Beyond the lab, these findings carry wide implications. Understanding the contribution of thermal signals and the “skin-to-brain” dialogue opens up possible new avenues for identifying mechanisms of vulnerability and developing sensory-based interventions for mental health. For example, it may improve rehabilitation for neurological patients, inform the design of prosthetics that feel more natural, and guide mental health interventions.

The review also highlights the potential impact of climate change and extreme temperature exposure on body awareness and cognition. Dr. Crucianelli and Dr. Salvato add, “As global temperatures rise, understanding how warmth and cold shape the relationship with ourselves may help explain shifts in mood, stress, and bodily awareness in everyday life.”

So why DO warm hugs make us feel good about ourselves?

“When we hug, the combination of tactile and thermal signals increases our sense of body ownership, so we are more connected to our embodied sense of self,” says Dr. Crucianelli. “Feeling warm touch on the skin enhances our ability to sense ourselves from the inside and recognize our own existence. We feel, ‘this is my body, and I am grounded in it.’”

Scientifically put, warm interpersonal contact engages specialized C-tactile afferents and thermosensitive pathways that project to the insular cortex, facilitating interoceptive signalling associated with safety and affective regulation. This sensory input is accompanied by oxytocin release and reductions in physiological stress, supporting social bonding and enhancing bodily self-awareness, and ultimately, well-being.

In other words, “Warm touch reminds us that we are connected, valued, and part of a social world,” says Dr. Crucianelli. “Humans are wired for social closeness, and hugs briefly dissolve the boundary between ‘self’ and ‘other’.”

Reference: “Shaping bodily self-awareness through thermosensory signals” by Gerardo Salvato and Laura Crucianelli, 4 December 2025, Trends in Cognitive Sciences. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2025.11.008

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