London, Oct 9 (IANS): Research shows a slow, loving touch, which is often an instinctive gesture from a mother to a child or between partners in romantic relationships, may boost the brain's ability to create a healthy sense of self.

These findings come from a new study published online in Frontiers of Psychology, led by Neuropsychoanalysis Centre Director Aikaterini (Katerina) Fotopoulou at University College London, and NPSA grantee Paul Mark Jenkinson of the Department of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire.

The study of 52 healthy adults used a common experimental technique known as the rubber hand illusion, in which the participants' brains are tricked into believing that a strategically placed rubber hand is their own.

As they watch the rubber hand being stroked in synchrony with their own, they begin to think that the fake hand belongs to them, reports Science Daily.

This technique demonstrates the changeable nature of the brain's perception of the body.