title: Electroencephalographic study showing that tactile stimulation by fabrics of different qualities elicit graded event-related potentials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Neurophysiologic data on reactions of the human brain towards tactile stimuli evoked by fabrics moved on the skin are scarce. Furthermore, evaluation of fabrics' pleasantness using questionnaires suffers subjective biases. That is why we used a 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) to objectively evaluate real-time brain reactions to fabric-skin interactions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tactile stimuli were triggered by selected fabrics of different qualities, i.e. modal/polyamide single jersey, cotton double rib and a jute fabric, applied hidden to either the palm or forearm of 24 subjects via a custom-made fabric-to-skin applicator called SOFIA. One-way anova analysis was carried out to verify the EEG data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The modal/polyamide fabric applied to the forearm and palm led to slightly stronger emotional valence scores in the brain than the conventional or baseline fabric. Furthermore, the single jersey elicits significant higher event-related potential (ERP) signals in all subjects when applied to the forearm, suggesting less distraction and better cognitive resources during the fabric/skin interaction. The brain thus reacts with instantaneous ERP to tactile stimulation of fabrics and is able to discriminate different qualities via implicit preferences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The test procedure described here may be a tool to evaluate the fabric feel with the exclusion of subjective biases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Environment & Medicine, Hohenstein Institutes, Boennigheim, Germany. d.hoefer@hohenstein.de.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hoefer
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Environment & Medicine, Hohenstein Institutes, Boennigheim, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Handel
authors.affiliation: Neuromarketing Labs, Aspach, Germany.
authors.forename: K-M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Hygiene, Environment & Medicine, Hohenstein Institutes, Boennigheim, Germany.
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Hammer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003020:Clothing; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology*; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena; D013499:Surface Properties; D013784:Textiles / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: brain perception; electroencephalography; fabric; passive touch; pleasantness; tactile stimulation