Comfort measurement of dry and wet touch: an fMRI study

Abstract In order to clarify the brain perception mechanism of tactile discomfort caused by wet fabric on the skin, and compare the changes of brain response to dry and wet tactile stimulation of the skin, five kinds of knitted mid-tube compression socks were used as samples, fMRI experiments was performed on the brain under the condition of skin contact stimulation with dry clothing and wet clothing respectively. The results showed that the brain region where the maximum positive activation intensity located was shifted from the secondary somatosensory cortex to the primary somatosensory cortex as the stimulation clothing changed from dry to wet, and the contact stimulation from the wet clothing reduced the maximum positive activation intensity, the maximum number of activated voxels and the total number of activated voxels in the sensory cortex, which was related to the neural pathway of somatosensory information, the heat transfer mechanism, the moisture transfer mechanism and the friction mechanism of textiles. The finding not only contributed to understanding the brain cognitive mechanism in the wet tactile perception, but also was of great significance for evaluating tactile comfort of clothing.