抄録
Kansei, a kind of sensitivity and mental reaction specific to humans, is thought to be generated by a highly advanced function of the human brain, although natural science has hardly explained it yet. In this review, we propose a model of neural mechanisms for kansei from a physiological viewpoint and discuss its applicability to feelings of a car driver. After introducing our model, based on the principles of motor control by the central nervous system (CNS), we point out that it is similar to a driver model that describes interactions of a driver's behavior and vehicle dynamics. We examine physiological responses of a driver in a moving vehicle and correlate these responses with vehicle dynamics. Attention is directed to muscle activity, the final motor output of the CNS that reflects a command signal originating from the higher motor center. Our study shows that the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck contributes to maintaining the head position in the pitch and roll planes against backward and lateral inertial forces during driving. The research may potentially pave the way for a challenging approach to objective evaluation of a driver's feelings. Finally, we discuss possible future directions of this approach. Objective analysis of physiological data, combined with appropriate subjective evaluation of a driver's feelings, may provide an insight into the neural mechanisms of kansei. Such a cross-disciplinary research that covers neuroscience, information science and kansei engineering is expected to clarify this advanced function of the brain and to create a new research field of ‘kansei science’.
