The Touching Brain
Our brain and skin are initially part of the same primitive formation during prenatal development, but they are separated during the process of neurogenesis (the embroyo's production of brain cells). Thus, in a sense, our skin is the 'other half' of our brain. This, perhaps, explains why at nearly all stages of life, one learns a great deal about his environment (objects, another person, etc.) via our universal human preference 'to touch to learn' more about an object.
While touching an object, most higher order mammals will also turn it, twist it, view it from a number of other positions, etc., as a means of drawing out the most meaningful clues, cues, and relevant information needed for arriving at conclusions concerning the object. Children provide evidence of this important mammalian information-gathering technique, as they walk past a picket fence and feel compelled to touch each picket as they pass by.
