Susannah C. Walker
Papers
4
Total Citations
163
H-Index
4
About
Susannah C. Walker is a leading researcher in the field of affective touch, with a particular focus on how tactile stimulation shapes social bonding, emotional well-being, and mental health across the lifespan. Her work centers on C-tactile (CT) afferents — specialized nerve fibers that respond optimally to gentle, caress-like touch — and their role in communicating the rewarding value of human contact. Walker's highly cited 2017 paper (73 citations) demonstrated that CT-targeted stimulation carries appetitive motivational value, providing foundational evidence for the social touch hypothesis. Her influential 2020 study (61 citations) broke important ground by examining how childhood adversity — including neglect and abuse experienced by UK care leavers — disrupts affective touch perception, linking early deprivation to later social isolation and poor mental health. More recent work has explored individual differences in responses to static versus dynamic touch (2023, 23 citations) and the relationship between heart rate variability and touch sensitivity (2024), underscoring the interplay between autonomic physiology and tactile experience. Collectively, Walker's research has meaningfully advanced our understanding of touch as a critical channel for human connection and psychological resilience.
Research Focus
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