Abstract
Vibrotactile feedback technology has become widely used in human–computer interaction due to its low cost, wearability, and expressiveness. Although neuroimaging studies have investigated neural processes associated with different types of vibrotactile feedback, encoding vibration intensity in the brain remains largely unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate neural processes associated with vibration intensity using electroencephalography. Twenty-nine healthy participants (aged 18–40 years, nine females) experienced vibrotactile feedback at the distal phalanx of the left index finger with three vibration intensity conditions: no vibration, low-intensity vibration (1.56 g), and high-intensity vibration (2.26 g). The alpha and beta band event-related desynchronization (ERD) as well as P2 and P3 event-related potential components for each of the three vibration intensity conditions are obtained. Results demonstrate that the ERD in the alpha band in the contralateral somatosensory and motor cortex areas is significantly associated with the vibration intensity. The average power spectral density (PSD) of the peak period of the ERD (400–600 ms) is significantly stronger for the high- and low-vibration intensity conditions compared to the no vibration condition. Furthermore, the average PSD of the ERD rebound (700–2,000 ms) is significantly maintained for the high-vibration intensity compared to low-intensity and no vibration conditions. Beta ERD signals the presence of vibration. These findings inform the development of quantitative measurements for vibration intensities based on neural signals.
Highlights
Humans are surrounded by vibrations that are extremely important to how the ambient environment is perceived
We investigated how the vibration intensity is represented in the brain
The time course alpha and beta power spectral density (PSD) analysis showed significant differences in event-related desynchronization (ERD) associated with the three levels of vibration intensity
Summary
Humans are surrounded by vibrations that are extremely important to how the ambient environment is perceived. With the widespread use of wearable devices with vibration capabilities, understanding how humans perceive vibrations is essential for the design of vibrotactile interfaces. Understanding how the physical properties of vibration such as intensity, duration, and frequency influence vibration perception is crucial for the design of effective vibration-mediated interfaces. Human perception of vibrotactile signals has been the subject of several psychophysical studies that are based on self-reporting and behavioral assessment (Verrillo et al, 1969). Most previous studies used self-reporting and/or behavior analysis in order to evaluate the user experience. Since neuronal information processing for vibration occurs at a millisecond timescale (Mackevicius et al, 2012), EEG plays an important role in assessing vibration information processing due to its high temporal resolution (Burle et al, 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
