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Hesse C, Bonnesen K, Franz VH, Schenk T. Card posting does not rely on visual orientation: A challenge to past neuropsychological dissociations. Neuropsychologia 2021; 159:107920. [PMID: 34166669 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
A common set of tasks frequently employed in the neuropsychological assessment of patients with visuomotor or perceptual deficits are the card-posting and the perceptual orientation matching tasks. In the posting task, patients have to post a card (or their hand) through a slot of varying orientations while the matching task requires them to indicate the slot's orientation as accurately as possible. Observations that damage to different areas of the brain (dorsal vs. ventral stream) is associated with selective impairment in one of the tasks - but not the other - has led to the suggestion that different cortical pathways process visual orientation information for perception versus action. In three experiments, we show that this conclusion may be premature as posting does not seem to rely on the processing of visual orientation information but is instead performed using obstacle avoidance strategies that require an accurate judgement of egocentric distances between the card's and the slot's edges. Specifically, we found that while matching is susceptible to the oblique effect (i.e., common perceptual orientation bias with higher accuracy for cardinal than oblique orientations), this was not the case for posting, neither in immediate nor in memory-guided conditions. In contrast to matching, posting errors primarily depended on biomechanical demands and reflected a preference for performing efficient and comfortable movements. Thus, we suggest that previous dissociations between perceptual and visuomotor performance in letter posting tasks are better explained by impairments in egocentric and allocentric spatial processing than by independent visual processing systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Volker H Franz
- Experimental Cognitive Science, Eberhard Karls University, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Thomas Schenk
- Department of Neuropsychology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
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2
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Göhringer F, Löhr-Limpens M, Hesse C, Schenk T. Grasping Discriminates between Object Sizes Less Not More Accurately than the Perceptual System. Vision (Basel) 2019; 3:E36. [PMID: 31735837 PMCID: PMC6802793 DOI: 10.3390/vision3030036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Ganel, Freud, Chajut, and Algom (2012) demonstrated that maximum grip apertures (MGAs) differ significantly when grasping perceptually identical objects. From this finding they concluded that the visual size information used by the motor system is more accurate than the visual size information available to the perceptual system. A direct comparison between the accuracy in the perception and the action system is, however, problematic, given that accuracy in the perceptual task is measured using a dichotomous variable, while accuracy in the visuomotor task is determined using a continuous variable. We addressed this problem by dichotomizing the visuomotor measures. Using this approach, our results show that size discrimination in grasping is in fact inferior to perceptual discrimination therefore contradicting the original suggestion put forward by Ganel and colleagues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederic Göhringer
- Lehrstuhl für Klinische Neuropsychologie, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich, Leopoldstr. 13, 80802 Munich, Germany
| | - Miriam Löhr-Limpens
- Lehrstuhl für Klinische Neuropsychologie, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich, Leopoldstr. 13, 80802 Munich, Germany
| | - Constanze Hesse
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen King’s College, William Guild Building, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK
| | - Thomas Schenk
- Lehrstuhl für Klinische Neuropsychologie, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich, Leopoldstr. 13, 80802 Munich, Germany
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3
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Grasping an object comfortably: orientation information is held in memory. Exp Brain Res 2015; 233:2663-72. [PMID: 26126801 PMCID: PMC4534494 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-015-4360-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2014] [Accepted: 05/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
It has been shown that memorized information can influence real-time visuomotor control. For instance, a previously seen object (prime) influences grasping movements toward a target object. In this study, we examined how general the priming effect is: does it depend on the orientation of the target object and the similarity between the prime and the target? To do so, we examined whether priming effects occured for different orientations of the prime and the target objects and for primes that were either identical to the target object or only half of the target object. We found that for orientations of the target object that did not require an awkward grasp, the orientation of the prime could influence the initiation time and the final grip orientation. The priming effects on initiation time were only found when the whole target object was presented as prime, but not when only half of the target object was presented. The results suggest that a memory effect on real-time control is constrained by end-state comfort and by the relevance of the prime for the grasping movement, which might mean that the interactions between the ventral and dorsal pathways are task specific.
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Bain GI, Polites N, Higgs BG, Heptinstall RJ, McGrath AM. The functional range of motion of the finger joints. J Hand Surg Eur Vol 2015; 40:406-11. [PMID: 24859993 DOI: 10.1177/1753193414533754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2013] [Accepted: 03/19/2014] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to measure the functional range of motion of the finger joints needed to perform activities of daily living. Using the Sollerman hand grip function test, 20 activities were assessed in ten volunteers. The active and passive range of motion was measured with a computerized electric goniometer. The position of each finger joint was evaluated in the pre-grasp and grasp positions. The functional range of motion was defined as the range required to perform 90% of the activities, utilizing the pre-grasp and grasp measurements. The functional range of motion was 19°-71°, 23°-87°, and 10°-64° at the metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, and distal interphalangeal joints, respectively. This represents 48%, 59%, and 60% of the active motion of these joints, respectively. There was a significant difference in the functional range of motion between the joints of the fingers, with the ulnar digits having greater active and functional range. The functional range of motion is important for directing indications for surgery and rehabilitation, and assessing outcome of treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- G I Bain
- Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia Discipline of Anatomy and Pathology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Modbury Public Hospital, Adelaide, Australia Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia
| | - N Polites
- Department of Surgery, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - B G Higgs
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia
| | | | - A M McGrath
- Department of Hand Surgery, Norrland's University Hospital, Umea, Sweden Department of Anatomy, Umea University, Umea, Sweden
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Golenia L, Schoemaker MM, Mouton LJ, Bongers RM. Individual differences in learning a novel discrete motor task. PLoS One 2014; 9:e112806. [PMID: 25386708 PMCID: PMC4227849 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many motor learning studies focus on average performance while it is known from everyday life experience that humans differ in their way of learning new motor tasks. This study emphasises the importance of recognizing individual differences in motor learning. We studied individual tool grasping profiles of individuals who learned to pick up objects with a novel tool, a pair of pliers. The pair of pliers was attached to the thumb and the index finger so that the tip of the thumb and the tip of the index finger were displaced to the beaks of the pair of pliers. The grasp component was manipulated by varying the location of the hinge of the pair of pliers, which resulted in different relations between beak opening and closing and finger opening and closing. The Wider Beak group had the hinge at 7 cm, the Same Beak group had the hinge at 10 cm (i.e., in the middle), and the Smaller Beak group had the hinge at 13 cm from the digits. Each group consisted of ten right-handed participants who picked up an object with one of the pairs of pliers 200 times on two subsequent days. Hand opening, plateau phase, hand closing, grasping time and maximum aperture were analyzed. To characterize individual changes over practice time, a log function was fitted on these dependent variables and the ratio of improvement was determined. Results showed that at the beginning stage of tool use learning the characteristic grasping profile consisted of three phases; hand opening, plateau phase and hand closing. Over practicing individual participants differed in the number of phases that changed, the amount of change in a phase and/or the direction of change. Moreover, with different pliers different learning paths were found. The importance of recognizing individual differences in motor learning is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Golenia
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Center for Human Movement Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marina M. Schoemaker
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Center for Human Movement Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Leonora J. Mouton
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Center for Human Movement Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Raoul M. Bongers
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Center for Human Movement Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
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Menger R, Van der Stigchel S, Dijkerman HC. How obstructing is an obstacle? The influence of starting posture on obstacle avoidance. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2012; 141:1-8. [PMID: 22820453 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2012.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2011] [Revised: 06/13/2012] [Accepted: 06/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The introduction of non-target objects into a workspace leads to temporal and spatial adjustments of reaching trajectories towards a target. Currently, there are two different explanations for this phenomenon: the non-target objects are considered as either physical obstacles to which we maintain a preferred distance (see Tresilian, 1998) or as distractors that interfere with movement planning (see Tipper, Howard, & Jackson, 1997). These components are difficult to disentangle, however. Our aim was to determine the unique contribution of the avoidance of a physical obstacle to the adjustments of reaching trajectories. In this study, we manipulate the degree of physical obstruction by non-target objects while keeping the a priori visual layout of the workspace more or less constant. This is achieved by placing participants in different starting postures with respect to the orientation of their limb segments. Participants reach towards and grasp target objects with non-targets present in the workspace in a frontal and a lateral starting posture. In the frontal conditions participants showed larger movements away from the non-target on the ipsilateral side of the workspace than in the lateral conditions. The results provide evidence for the interpretation that non-targets influence the movement trajectory partly because they are 'obstructing'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rudmer Menger
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Verheij R, Brenner E, Smeets JBJ. Grasping kinematics from the perspective of the individual digits: a modelling study. PLoS One 2012; 7:e33150. [PMID: 22412997 PMCID: PMC3296685 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0033150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2011] [Accepted: 02/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Grasping is a prototype of human motor coordination. Nevertheless, it is not known what determines the typical movement patterns of grasping. One way to approach this issue is by building models. We developed a model based on the movements of the individual digits. In our model the following objectives were taken into account for each digit: move smoothly to the preselected goal position on the object without hitting other surfaces, arrive at about the same time as the other digit and never move too far from the other digit. These objectives were implemented by regarding the tips of the digits as point masses with a spring between them, each attracted to its goal position and repelled from objects' surfaces. Their movements were damped. Using a single set of parameters, our model can reproduce a wider variety of experimental findings than any previous model of grasping. Apart from reproducing known effects (even the angles under which digits approach trapezoidal objects' surfaces, which no other model can explain), our model predicted that the increase in maximum grip aperture with object size should be greater for blocks than for cylinders. A survey of the literature shows that this is indeed how humans behave. The model can also adequately predict how single digit pointing movements are made. This supports the idea that grasping kinematics follow from the movements of the individual digits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekka Verheij
- Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Research Institute MOVE, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Imitation of a bimanual task in preschool- and school-age children: a hierarchical construction. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2012; 22:513-9. [PMID: 22391341 DOI: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2012.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2011] [Revised: 01/30/2012] [Accepted: 01/30/2012] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study examined the development of bimanual interaction during the imitation of a live demonstration. To this end, children of five different age groups observed an adult model performing in an object manipulation task consisting to open a box with one hand, taking out an object with the other hand, and closing the box again, before they were asked to imitate this motor task under different imitation conditions. The children's responses were videotaped, coded in dichotomous data, and then transformed in percentage scores. The main results showed that all children were able to imitate/attain the goal of the task. However, differences were observed for the different imitation conditions, which were also reflected in some age effects, while hand dominance was a strong constraint on imitation. Also, practice did not seem to increase the likelihood of model imitation. These findings confirm that imitation is a reconstruction mechanism hierarchically organized.
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Bongers RM, Zaal FTJM, Jeannerod M. Hand aperture patterns in prehension. Hum Mov Sci 2011; 31:487-501. [PMID: 22130470 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2011.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2010] [Revised: 07/22/2011] [Accepted: 07/23/2011] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Although variations in the standard prehensile pattern can be found in the literature, these alternative patterns have never been studied systematically. This was the goal of the current paper. Ten participants picked up objects with a pincer grip. Objects (3, 5, or 7cm in diameter) were placed at 30, 60, 90, or 120cm from the hands' starting location. Usually the hand was opened gradually to a maximum immediately followed by hand closing, called the standard hand opening pattern. In the alternative opening patterns the hand opening was bumpy, or the hand aperture stayed at a plateau before closing started. Two participants in particular delayed the start of grasping with respect to start of reaching, with the delay time increasing with object distance. For larger object distances and smaller object sizes, the bumpy and plateau hand opening patterns were used more often. We tentatively concluded that the alternative hand opening patterns extended the hand opening phase, to arrive at the appropriate hand aperture at the appropriate time to close the hand for grasping the object. Variations in hand opening patterns deserve attention because this might lead to new insights into the coordination of reaching and grasping.
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Monaco S, Cavina-Pratesi C, Sedda A, Fattori P, Galletti C, Culham JC. Functional magnetic resonance adaptation reveals the involvement of the dorsomedial stream in hand orientation for grasping. J Neurophysiol 2011; 106:2248-63. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.01069.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Reach-to-grasp actions require coordination of different segments of the upper limbs. Previous studies have examined the neural substrates of arm transport and hand grip components of such actions; however, a third component has been largely neglected: the orientation of the wrist and hand appropriately for the object. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging adaptation (fMRA) to investigate human brain areas involved in processing hand orientation during grasping movements. Participants used the dominant right hand to grasp a rod with the four fingers opposing the thumb or to reach and touch the rod with the knuckles without visual feedback. In a control condition, participants passively viewed the rod. Trials in a slow event-related design consisted of two sequential stimuli in which the rod orientation changed (requiring a change in wrist posture while grasping but not reaching or looking) or remained the same. We found reduced activation, that is, adaptation, in superior parieto-occipital cortex (SPOC) when the object was repeatedly grasped with the same orientation. In contrast, there was no adaptation when reaching or looking at an object in the same orientation, suggesting that hand orientation, rather than object orientation, was the critical factor. These results agree with recent neurophysiological research showing that a parieto-occipital area of macaque (V6A) is modulated by hand orientation during reach-to-grasp movements. We suggest that the human dorsomedial stream, like that in the macaque, plays a key role in processing hand orientation in reach-to-grasp movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Monaco
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Anna Sedda
- Department of Psychology, University of Pavia, Pavia and
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Human and General Physiology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Human and General Physiology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Jody C. Culham
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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van Wermeskerken M, van der Kamp J, Savelsbergh GJP. On the relation between action selection and movement control in 5- to 9-month-old infants. Exp Brain Res 2011; 211:51-62. [PMID: 21461601 PMCID: PMC3084940 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2645-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2010] [Accepted: 03/17/2011] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Although 5-month-old infants select action modes that are adaptive to the size of the object (i.e., one- or two-handed reaching), it has largely remained unclear whether infants of this age control the ensuing movement to the size of the object (i.e., scaling of the aperture between hands). We examined 5-, 7-, and 9-month-olds' reaching behaviors to gain more insight into the developmental changes occurring in the visual guidance of action mode selection and movement control, and the relationship between these processes. Infants were presented with a small set of objects (i.e., 2, 3, 7, and 8 cm) and a large set of objects (i.e., 6, 9, 12, and 15 cm). For the first set of objects, it was found that the infants more often performed two-handed reaches for the larger objects based on visual information alone (i.e., before making contact with the object), thus showing adaptive action mode selection relative to object size. Kinematical analyses of the two-handed reaches for the second set of objects revealed that inter-trial variance in aperture between the hands decreased with the approach toward the object, indicating that infants' reaching is constrained by the object. Subsequent analysis showed that between hand aperture scaled to object size, indicating that visual control of the movement is adjusted to object size in infants as young as 5 months. Individual analyses indicated that the two processes were not dependent and followed distinct developmental trajectories. That is, adaptive selection of an action mode was not a prerequisite for appropriate aperture scaling, and vice versa. These findings are consistent with the idea of two separate and independent visual systems (Milner and Goodale in Neuropsychologia 46:774-785, 2008) during early infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margot van Wermeskerken
- Research Institute MOVE, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University, Van der Boechorststraat 9, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Changes in tactile sensitivity over the time-course of a goal-directed movement. Behav Brain Res 2010; 208:391-401. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2009] [Revised: 12/05/2009] [Accepted: 12/09/2009] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Hesse C, Deubel H. Effects of altered transport paths and intermediate movement goals on human grasp kinematics. Exp Brain Res 2009; 201:93-109. [PMID: 19937231 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-009-2070-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2009] [Accepted: 09/07/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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