Hand and Brain: Neurophysiology and Psychology of Hand Movements

Used for gestures of communication, environmental exploration and the grasping and manipulating of objects, the hand has a vital role in our lives. The hand's anatomical structure and neural control are among the most complex and detailed of human motor systems. This is a comprehensive overview of the hand's sensorimotor control. It discusses mediating variables in perception and prehension, the co-ordination of muscles with the central nervous system, the nature of movement control and hand positioning, hand-arm co-ordination in reaching and grasping, and the sensory function of the hand. The rapid growth of neuroscience has been paralleled by a surge of interest in hand function. This reflects the fact that many of the fundamental issues facing neuroscientists today - including the problem of relating physiology to behaviour - are central to the study of sensori-motor control of the hand. This work takes a broad interdisciplinary perspective on the control of hand movements that includes neurophysiology, neuro-anatomy, psychology and neuropsychology and biomechanics.

Table of Contents:
The hand in action: The task at hand, J.R. Flanagan, P. Haggard, A.M. Wing; The visual pathways mediating perception and prehension, M.A. Goodale, L.S. Jakobson, P. Servos. The motor hand: Precision grip in humans: temporal and spatial synergies, M.C. Hepp-Reymond, E.J. Huesler, M.A. Maier; Muscle architecture basis for neuromuscular control of the forearm and hand, J. Friden, R.L. Lieber; Individuated finger movements: rejecting the labeled-line hypothesis, M.H. Schieber; Multiple hand representations in the motor cortical areas, E.M. Rouiller; the structure and function of the developing corticospinal tract: some key issues, J. Armand, E. Olivier, S.A. Edgley, R.N. Lemon. Hand positioning in reaching: Frames of reference in sensorimotor integration: position sense of the arm and hand, J.F. Soechting, D.C. Tong, M. Flanders; Three approaches to the degrees of freedom problem in reaching, D.A. Rosenbaum, R.G.J. Meulenbroek, J. Vaughan; Kinematic and dynamic factors in the coordination of prehension movements, C. Ghez, S.E. Cooper, J.H. Martin; Neural control of limb mechanics for visuo-manual coordination, F. Lacquaniti. Hand-arm coordination in reach and grasp: Neural network models for selecting hand shapes, T. Iberall, A.H. Fagg; Prehension movements: the visuomotor channels hypothesis revisited, Y. Paulignan, M. Jeannerod; Two hands - one action: the problem of bimanual coordination, M. Wiesendanger, O. Kazennikov, S. Perrig, P. Kaluzny; Anticipatory control of grip force in rapid arm movement, A.M. Wing. The sensorimotor hand: Role of primary somatosensory cortex in active and passive touch, C.E. Chapman, F. Tremblay, S.A. Ageranioti-Belanger; Proprioception and its contribution to manual dexterity, L. Jones; Proprioceptive mechanisms and the control of finger movements, A.B. Vallbo, J. Wessberg; Sensory control of dextrous manipulation in humans, R.S. Johansson; Action-perception coupling in judgment of hand-held loads, J.R. Flanagan; Action for perception: manual exploratory movements for haptically processing objects and their features, S.J. Lederman, R.L. Klatzky.