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Published on: February 10, 2016
Investigation of the cortical activation by touching fabric actively using fingers
1Key Laboratory of Textile Science & Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai, China.
Background/Purpose:
Human subjects can tactually estimate the perception of touching fabric. Although many psychophysical and neurophysiological experiments have elucidated the peripheral neural mechanisms that underlie fabric hand estimation, the associated cortical mechanisms are not well understood.
Methods:
To identify the brain regions responsible for the tactile stimulation of fabric against human skin, we used the technology of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to observe brain activation when the subjects touched silk fabric actively using fingers.
Results:
Consistent with previous research about brain cognition on sensory stimulation, large activation in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI), the secondary somatosensory cortex (SII) and moto cortex, and little activation in the posterior insula cortex and Broca's Area were observed when the subjects touched silk fabric.
Conclusion:
The technology of fMRI is a promising tool to observe and characterize the brain cognition on the tactile stimulation of fabric quantitatively. The intensity and extent of activation in the brain regions, especially the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) and the secondary somatosensory cortex (SII), can represent the perception of stimulation of fabric quantitatively.
