In San Juan, Puerto Rico, friends who meet and talk at a cafe touch each other 200 times an hour.

In New York City? Twice an hour.

On the TED Radio Hour, host Guy Raz interviewed David Linden, a neuroscientist, about his research on the sense of touch at John Hopkins School of Medicine.

In all parts of the world, the sense of touch is a deeply embedded part of our emotional and social life. Physical touch is a huge part of how we construct our world – whether we experience it as supportive or hostile, and whether other people are threatening or comforting.

Here in the Northeast — where we reduce our interpersonal use of touch to a near-minimum — are we missing something?

Listen to the podcast to explore other interesting aspects of the sense of touch.