Electroencephalographic Responses and Subjective Evaluation on Unpleasantness Induced by Sanitary Napkins

Abstract

Correlation of unpleasantness and electroencephalography (EEG)-based responses induced by persistent mechanical/dry stimulation and acute wet stimulation via wearing sanitary napkins (SN) was investigated in the present study. Mesh and nonwoven SN were employed, and the effects were studied during the follicular and menstrual phases. The mesh SN characteristically displayed a higher textural surface-roughness. The results in the follicular phase revealed no change in EEG responses to nonwoven SN-induced persistent mechanical stimulation, while the same dry stimulus induced significant increases in alpha2 and beta activities in the bilateral frontal areas accompanied by markedly exacerbated unpleasantness with mesh compared with nonwoven SN. The present result with SN application confirms the previous finding that unpleasantness is well correlated with EEG responses of bilateral frontal areas. Interestingly, although the alpha2 activities were enhanced more with mesh than nonwoven SN during the menstrual phase, unpleasantness between the two textural materials was not different. Moreover, it is suggested that acute unpleasantness induced by wet stimulation is related with elevated EEG responses in the left hemisphere. These data suggest that subjective evaluation of effects of physical stimulation on the human body may not be adequately reliable, and objective assessment of physiological activities with EEG is warranted.

Approach the Good, Withdraw from the Bad—A Review on Frontal Alpha Asymmetry Measures in Applied Psychological Research

“…v antness or liking. Park and Watanuki (2005), for example, were interested in whether the type of sanitary napkins (mesh versus nonwoven) influences menstrual unpleasantness, as indicated by self-report and greater right hemispheric activity. Results were not consistent, however.…”

“…In summary, previous FAA studies focusing on commercials successfully investigated the emotional engagement of TV viewers. In addition to that, first studies indicate that FAA can provide information concerning the affective value of every day products (Park & Watanuki, 2005;Tomico et al, 2008) and product packaging (Burshteyn & Buff, 2008), and suggest that marketing and design can possibly benefit from applied FAA research.…”

The effect of wearing sanitary napkins of different thicknesses on physiological and psychological responses in Muslim females

“…Female menstruation is associated with significant unpleasant symptoms, which can be physical, behavioral, and emotional [1,2]. Consequently, reducing mental stress during the menstruation period is an important quality of life issue for women.…”

“…Consequently, reducing mental stress during the menstruation period is an important quality of life issue for women. Wearing a sanitary napkin (SN) is believed to influence mental stress responses of women during daily living activities [1,2]. Although mental stress is a psychological response, it affects several physiological processes in the human body.…”

“…For example, Park and Watanuki [1,2] reported that, although the use of SNs increased physiological loading, their use did not result in significant effects on the LF and HF components or the LF/HF ratio of HRV at 20, 30, and 40 min after application compared to during the 10 min resting state. In a laboratory-based experiment, application of different types of SN had different physiological and psychological outcomes [1,2]. Mechanical stimulation by SNs with higher roughness (frictional coefficient = 0.312) increased SNS activities and brain arousal compared to SNs with lower roughness (frictional coefficient = 0.142) [1].…”