Are reaching and grasping effector-independent? Similarities and differences in reaching and grasping kinematics between the hand and foot.

ABSTRACT: While reaching and grasping are highly prevalent manual actions, neuroimaging studies provide evidence that their neural representations may be shared between different body parts, i.e., effectors. If these actions are guided by effector-independent mechanisms, similar kinematics should be observed when the action is performed by the hand or by a cortically remote and less experienced effector, such as the foot. We tested this hypothesis with two characteristic components of action: the initial ballistic stage of reaching, and the preshaping of the digits during grasping based on object size. We examined if these kinematic features reflect effector-independent mechanisms by asking participants to reach toward and to grasp objects of different widths with their hand and foot. First, during

SUBMITTER: Liu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9142431 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature