The perception of materials through oral sensation

PLoS One. 2014 Aug 19;9(8):e105035. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105035. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a multimodal study of oral perception conducted with a set of material samples made from metals, polymers and woods, in which both the somatosensory and taste factors were examined. A multidimensional scaling analysis coupled with subjective attribute ratings was performed to assess these factors both qualitatively and quantitatively. The perceptual somatosensory factors of warmth, hardness and roughness dominated over the basic taste factors, and roughness was observed to be a less significant sensation compared to touch-only experiments. The perceptual somatosensory ratings were compared directly with physical property data in order to assess the correlation between the perceived properties and measured physical properties. In each case, a strong correlation was observed, suggesting that physical properties may be useful in industrial design for predicting oral perception.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Copper / chemistry
  • Female
  • Glass / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mouth / physiology*
  • Polystyrenes / chemistry
  • Silicones / chemistry
  • Stainless Steel / chemistry
  • Surface Properties
  • Taste
  • Touch Perception*
  • Touch*
  • Wood / chemistry
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Polystyrenes
  • Silicones
  • Stainless Steel
  • Copper

Grants and funding

The study was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, grant number: f/07 040/AF. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.