The Motor Control of Hand Movements in the Human Brain: Toward the Definition of a Cortical Representation of Postural Synergies

Author(s):  
Andrea Leo ◽  
Giacomo Handjaras ◽  
Hamal Marino ◽  
Matteo Bianchi ◽  
Pietro Pietrini ◽  
...  
eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daan B Wesselink ◽  
Fiona MZ van den Heiligenberg ◽  
Naveed Ejaz ◽  
Harriet Dempsey-Jones ◽  
Lucilla Cardinali ◽  
...  

A key question in neuroscience is how cortical organisation relates to experience. Previously we showed that amputees experiencing highly vivid phantom sensations maintain cortical representation of their missing hand (Kikkert et al., 2016). Here, we examined the role of sensory hand experience on persistent hand representation by studying individuals with acquired and congenital hand loss. We used representational similarity analysis in primary somatosensory and motor cortex during missing and intact hand movements. We found that key aspects of acquired amputees’ missing hand representation persisted, despite varying vividness of phantom sensations. In contrast, missing hand representation of congenital one-handers, who do not experience phantom sensations, was significantly reduced. Across acquired amputees, individuals’ reported motor control over their phantom hand positively correlated with the extent to which their somatosensory hand representation was normally organised. We conclude that once cortical organisation is formed, it is remarkably persistent, despite long-term attenuation of peripheral signals.


NeuroImage ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 359-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armin Fuchs ◽  
Viktor K. Jirsa ◽  
J.A.Scott Kelso

Author(s):  
Susan Blackmore

‘The human brain’ considers the brain as a vast network of connections from which come our extraordinary abilities: perception, learning, memory, reasoning, language, and somehow or another—consciousness. Different areas deal with vision, hearing, speech, body image, motor control, and forward planning. They are all linked, but this is not done through one central processor, but by millions of criss-crossing connections. By contrast, human consciousness seems to be unified. A successful science of consciousness must therefore explain the contents of consciousness, the continuity of consciousness, and the self who is conscious. Research linking consciousness to brain function is discussed along with conditions such as synaesthesia, blindsight, stroke damage, and amnesia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salam Bahmad ◽  
Luke E. Miller ◽  
Minh Tu Pham ◽  
Richard Moreau ◽  
Romeo Salemme ◽  
...  

Abstract Following tool-use, the kinematics of free-hand movements are altered. This modified kinematic pattern has been taken as a behavioral hallmark of the modification induced by tool-use on the effector representation. Proprioceptive inputs appear central in updating the estimated effector state. Here we questioned whether online proprioceptive modality that is accessed in real time, or offline, memory-based, proprioception is responsible for this update. Since normal aging affects offline proprioception only, we examined a group of 60 year-old adults for proprioceptive acuity and movement’s kinematics when grasping an object before and after tool-use. As a control, participants performed the same movements with a weight—equivalent to the tool—weight-attached to their wrist. Despite hampered offline proprioceptive acuity, 60 year-old participants exhibited the typical kinematic signature of tool incorporation: Namely, the latency of transport components peaks was longer and their amplitude reduced after tool-use. Instead, we observed no kinematic modifications in the control condition. In addition, online proprioception acuity correlated with tool incorporation, as indexed by the amount of kinematics changes observed after tool-use. Altogether, these findings point to the prominent role played by online proprioception in updating the body estimate for the motor control of tools.


2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime Guye ◽  
Fabrice Bartolomei ◽  
Jean-Philippe Ranjeva

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulysse Fortier-Gauthier ◽  
Stephan Grimault ◽  
Douglas Cheyne ◽  
Pierre Jolicoeur

NeuroImage ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 370-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome N. Sanes

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