Tactile perception of fabrics based on fMRI and EEG

The tactile perception of fabrics determines consumer acceptance and satisfaction with the fabrics. This study investigated the tactile perception of three woven fabrics made from linen, cotton, and silk fibers using friction, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and electroencephalography (EEG) methods. The results showed that the surface roughness of these fabrics was significantly negatively correlated with the friction coefficient and significantly positively correlated with the maximum Lyapunov exponent of the vibration signal. The larger the adhesive friction was, the higher the stickiness feeling of the fabric. The larger the fluctuation amplitude of the vibration signal was, the higher the roughness feeling of the fabric. Moreover, the main regions activated during tactile perception of the three fabrics were the primary somatosensory cortex and postcentral gyrus. Both the large friction and the large vibration generated by touching the fabrics evoked a larger activation area and intensity in the brain, resulting in a lower comfort feeling. Furthermore, the fabrics that produced larger friction or vibration during tactile perception evoked smaller Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC) and approximate entropy of EEG signals. These findings revealed that mechanical stimulation during fabric perception can affect subjective evaluations and brain responses.