Emotional visual stimuli affect the evaluation of tactile stimuli presented on the arms but not the related electrodermal responses

Considering the wealth of recent studies on affective touch, to date, little research addressed the role of the other sensory modalities in the modulation of hedonic tactile perception. Here, we investigated the behavioral and electrodermal signature of the interaction between simultaneously presented visual and tactile stimuli. In three experiments, participants were presented with emotional pictures (international affective picture system; IAPS), while their forearm was gently stroked by means of different tactile textures (i.e., sandpaper, satin, tinfoil, abrasive sponge, and skin-to-skin contact). In Experiment 1, the participants evaluated the pleasantness of the tactile stimulation received, while in Experiment 2 they evaluated the pictures emotional valence. In Experiment 3 the participants rated the pleasantness, the smoothness and the softness of the textures; skin conductance responses (SCRs) were also measured. In sum, the results revealed that while the visual valence ratings were not modulated by the tactile stimulation, the hedonic and sensory tactile ratings were modulated by the visual presentation of both positively and negatively valenced pictures, as well as by neutral pictures. The modulatory effects occurring during visuo-tactile interactions might thus be not necessarily reciprocal. Moreover, the SCRs were not differently affected by the visuo-tactile or tactile conditions of stimulus presentation, suggesting a dissociation between behavioral and electrodermal effects in multisensory interactions.