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A furry social robot can reduce pain and increase happiness
Researchers have discovered that a single, 60-minute interaction with PARO actually improved mood as well as reduced mild or severe pain. When participants touched PARO, they experienced greater pain reduction than when it was simply present in their room.
June 23, 2020 By American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Could furry social robots help bolster moods and reduce pain when human to human contact isn’t an option, for example, during a pandemic?
Human-to-human contact has been found to bolster mood and reduce pain in previous studies. Dr. Shelly Levy-Tzedek of the BGU Department of Physical Therapy and her team investigated whether a furry social robot could induce similar effects when normal human-to-human contact is not available.
Levy-Tzedek and her team discovered that a single, 60-minute interaction with PARO actually improved mood as well as reduced mild or severe pain. When participants touched PARO, they experienced greater pain reduction than when it was simply present in their room.
Surprisingly, the BGU researchers discovered lower oxytocin levels in those who interacted with PARO than in the control group participants, who did not meet PARO. Typically, oxytocin, sometimes called “the love homone,” is elevated among romantic partners or mothers playing with their children, so a lower level of oxytocin wasn’t expected. However, more recent studies have shown that outside of close relationships, oxytocin production is a stress indicator and therefore, a reduction could indicate relaxation.
“These findings offer new strategies for pain management and for improving well-being, which are particularly needed at this time, when social distancing is a crucial factor in public health,” says Dr. Levy-Tzedek.
Journal Reference:
- Nirit Geva, Florina Uzefovsky, Shelly Levy-Tzedek. Touching the social robot PARO reduces pain perception and salivary oxytocin levels. Scientific Reports, 2020; 10 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66982-y
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