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  • 1.
    Armstrong, Irene T
    et al.
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
    Judson, Melissa
    Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
    Munoz, Douglas P
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada, Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, J Randall
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada, Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
    Waiting for a hand: saccadic reaction time increases in proportion to hand reaction time when reaching under a visuomotor reversal2013In: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, E-ISSN 1662-5161, Vol. 7, p. 319-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Although eye movement onset typically precedes hand movement onset when reaching to targets presented in peripheral vision, arm motor commands appear to be issued at around the same time, and possibly in advance, of eye motor commands. A fundamental question, therefore, is whether eye movement initiation is linked or yoked to hand movement. We addressed this issue by having participants reach to targets after adapting to a visuomotor reversal (or 180° rotation) between the position of the unseen hand and the position of a cursor controlled by the hand. We asked whether this reversal, which we expected to increase hand reaction time (HRT), would also increase saccadic reaction time (SRT). As predicted, when moving the cursor to targets under the reversal, HRT increased in all participants. SRT also increased in all but one participant, even though the task for the eyes-shifting gaze to the target-was unaltered by the reversal of hand position feedback. Moreover, the effects of the reversal on SRT and HRT were positively correlated across participants; those who exhibited the greatest increases in HRT also showed the greatest increases in SRT. These results indicate that the mechanisms underlying the initiation of eye and hand movements are linked. In particular, the results suggest that the initiation of an eye movement to a manual target depends, at least in part, on the specification of hand movement.

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  • 2.
    Baugh, Lee A.
    et al.
    Queen's University Kingston, Ontario.
    Kao, Michelle
    Queen's University Kingston, Ontario.
    Johansson, Roland S.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, J. Randall
    Queen's University Kingston, Ontario.
    Material evidence: interaction of well-learned priors and sensorimotor memory when lifting objects2012In: Journal of Neurophysiology, ISSN 0022-3077, E-ISSN 1522-1598, Vol. 108, no 5, p. 1262-1269Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Skilled object lifting requires the prediction of object weight. When lifting new objects, such prediction is based on well-learned size-weight and material-density correlations, or priors. However, if the prediction is erroneous, people quickly learn the weight of the particular object and can use this knowledge, referred to as sensorimotor memory, when lifting the object again. In the present study, we explored how sensorimotor memory, gained when lifting a given object, interacts with well-learned material-density priors when predicting the weight of a larger but otherwise similar-looking object. Different groups of participants 1st lifted 1 of 4 small objects 10 times. These included a pair of wood-filled objects and a pair of brass-filled objects where 1 of each pair was covered in a wood veneer and the other was covered in a brass veneer. All groups then lifted a larger, brass-filled object with the same covering as the small object they had lifted. For each lift, we determined the initial peak rate of change of vertical load-force rate and the load-phase duration, which provide estimates of predicted object weight. Analysis of the 10th lift of the small cube revealed no effects of surface material, indicating participants learned the appropriate forces required to lift the small cube regardless of object appearance. However, both surface material and core material of the small cube affected the 1st lift of the large block. We conclude that sensorimotor memory related to object density can contribute to weight prediction when lifting novel objects but also that long-term priors related to material properties can influence the prediction.

  • 3. Baugh, Lee A.
    et al.
    Yak, Amelie
    Johansson, Roland S.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB).
    Flanagan, J. Randall
    Representing multiple object weights: competing priors and sensorimotor memories2016In: Journal of Neurophysiology, ISSN 0022-3077, E-ISSN 1522-1598, Vol. 116, no 4, p. 1615-1625Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    When lifting an object, individuals scale lifting forces based on long-term priors relating external object properties (such as material and size) to object weight. When experiencing objects that are poorly predicted by priors, people rapidly form and update sensorimotor memories that can be used to predict an object's atypical size-weight relation in support of predictively scaling lift forces. With extensive experience in lifting such objects, long-term priors, assessed with weight judgments, are gradually updated. The aim of the present study was to understand the formation and updating of these memory processes. Participants lifted, over multiple days, a set of black cubes with a normal size-weight mapping and green cubes with an inverse size-weight mapping. Sensorimotor memory was assessed with lifting forces, and priors associated with the black and green cubes were assessed with the size-weight illusion (SWI). Interference was observed in terms of adaptation of the SWI, indicating that priors were not independently adjusted. Half of the participants rapidly learned to scale lift forces appropriately, whereas reduced learning was observed in the others, suggesting that individual differences may be affecting sensorimotor memory abilities. A follow-up experiment showed that lifting forces are not accurately scaled to objects when concurrently performing a visuomotor association task, suggesting that sensorimotor memory formation involves cognitive resources to instantiate the mapping between object identity and weight, potentially explaining the results of experiment 1. These results provide novel insight into the formation and updating of sensorimotor memories and provide support for the independent adjustment of sensorimotor memory and priors.

  • 4. Bengtsson, Fredrik
    et al.
    Brasselet, Romain
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Arleo, Angelo
    Jörntell, Henrik
    Integration of sensory quanta in cuneate nucleus neurons in vivo2013In: PLOS ONE, E-ISSN 1932-6203, Vol. 8, no 2, p. e56630-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Discriminative touch relies on afferent information carried to the central nervous system by action potentials (spikes) in ensembles of primary afferents bundled in peripheral nerves. These sensory quanta are first processed by the cuneate nucleus before the afferent information is transmitted to brain networks serving specific perceptual and sensorimotor functions. Here we report data on the integration of primary afferent synaptic inputs obtained with in vivo whole cell patch clamp recordings from the neurons of this nucleus. We find that the synaptic integration in individual cuneate neurons is dominated by 4-8 primary afferent inputs with large synaptic weights. In a simulation we show that the arrangement with a low number of primary afferent inputs can maximize transfer over the cuneate nucleus of information encoded in the spatiotemporal patterns of spikes generated when a human fingertip contact objects. Hence, the observed distributions of synaptic weights support high fidelity transfer of signals from ensembles of tactile afferents. Various anatomical estimates suggest that a cuneate neuron may receive hundreds of primary afferents rather than 4-8. Therefore, we discuss the possibility that adaptation of synaptic weight distribution, possibly involving silent synapses, may function to maximize information transfer in somatosensory pathways.

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  • 5.
    Birznieks, Ingvars
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Burstedt, Magnus K
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Edin, Benoni B
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Mechanisms for force adjustments to unpredictable frictional changes at individual digits during two-fingered manipulation.1998In: Journal of Neurophysiology, ISSN 0022-3077, E-ISSN 1522-1598, Vol. 80, no 4, p. 1989-2002Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Previous studies on adaptation of fingertip forces to local friction at individual digit-object interfaces largely focused on static phases of manipulative tasks in which humans could rely on anticipatory control based on the friction in previous trials. Here we instead analyze mechanisms underlying this adaptation after unpredictable changes in local friction between consecutive trials. With the tips of the right index and middle fingers or the right and left index fingers, subjects restrained a manipulandum whose horizontal contact surfaces were located side by side. At unpredictable moments a tangential force was applied to the contact surfaces in the distal direction at 16 N/s to a plateau at 4 N. The subjects were free to use any combination of normal and tangential forces at the two fingers, but the sum of the tangential forces had to counterbalance the imposed load. The contact surface of the right index finger was fine-grained sandpaper, whereas that of the cooperating finger was changed between sandpaper and the more slippery rayon. The load increase automatically triggered normal force responses at both fingers. When a finger contacted rayon, subjects allowed slips to occur at this finger during the load force increase instead of elevating the normal force. These slips accounted for a partitioning of the load force between the digits that resulted in an adequate adjustment of the normal:tangential force ratios to the local friction at each digit. This mechanism required a fine control of the normal forces. Although the normal force at the more slippery surface had to be comparatively low to allow slippage, the normal forces applied by the nonslipping digit at the same time had to be high enough to prevent loss of the manipulandum. The frictional changes influenced the normal forces applied before the load ramp as well as the size of the triggered normal force responses similarly at both fingers, that is, with rayon at one contact surface the normal forces increased at both fingers. Thus to independently adapt fingertip forces to the local friction the normal forces were controlled at an interdigital level by using sensory information from both engaged digits. Furthermore, subjects used both short- and long-term anticipatory mechanisms in a manner consistent with the notion that the central nervous system (CNS) entertains internal models of relevant object and task properties during manipulation.

  • 6.
    Birznieks, Ingvars
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB).
    Jenmalm, Per
    Goodwin, A. W.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Directional encoding of fingertip force by human tactile afferents2001In: Journal of Neuroscience, ISSN 0270-6474, Vol. 21, no 8222-8237, p. 8222-8237Article in journal (Refereed)
  • 7.
    Birznieks, Ingvars
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Jenmalm, Per
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Goodwin, Antony W
    University of Melbourne, Victoria.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Encoding of direction of fingertip forces by human tactile afferents2001In: Journal of Neuroscience, ISSN 0270-6474, E-ISSN 1529-2401, Vol. 21, no 20, p. 8222-8237Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    In most manipulations, we use our fingertips to apply time-varying forces to the target object in controlled directions. Here we used microneurography to assess how single tactile afferents encode the direction of fingertip forces at magnitudes, rates, and directions comparable to those arising in everyday manipulations. Using a flat stimulus surface, we applied forces to a standard site on the fingertip while recording impulse activity in 196 tactile afferents with receptive fields distributed over the entire terminal phalanx. Forces were applied in one of five directions: normal force and forces at a 20 degrees angle from the normal in the radial, distal, ulnar, or proximal directions. Nearly all afferents responded, and the responses in most slowly adapting (SA)-I, SA-II, and fast adapting (FA)-I afferents were broadly tuned to a preferred direction of force. Among afferents of each type, the preferred directions were distributed in all angular directions with reference to the stimulation site, but not uniformly. The SA-I population was biased for tangential force components in the distal direction, the SA-II population was biased in the proximal direction, and the FA-I population was biased in the proximal and radial directions. Anisotropic mechanical properties of the fingertip and the spatial relationship between the receptive field center of the afferent and the stimulus site appeared to influence the preferred direction in a manner dependent on afferent type. We conclude that tactile afferents from the whole terminal phalanx potentially contribute to the encoding of direction of fingertip forces similar to those that occur when subjects manipulate objects under natural conditions.

  • 8.
    Birznieks, Ingvars
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB).
    Johansson, Roland S
    Response onset latencies in populations of human tactile afferents reflect direction of fingertip forces and object shapeManuscript (Other academic)
  • 9.
    Birznieks, Ingvars
    et al.
    Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales 2031, Australia.
    Macefield, Vaughan G
    Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales 2031, Australia.
    Westling, Göran
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Slowly adapting mechanoreceptors in the borders of the human fingernail encode fingertip forces2009In: Journal of Neuroscience, ISSN 0270-6474, E-ISSN 1529-2401, Vol. 29, no 29, p. 9370-9379Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    There are clusters of slowly adapting (SA) mechanoreceptors in the skin folds bordering the nail. These "SA-IInail" afferents, which constitute nearly one fifth of the tactile afferents innervating the fingertip, possess the general discharge characteristics of slowly adapting type II (SA-II) tactile afferents located elsewhere in the glabrous skin of the human hand. Little is known about the signals in the SA-IInail afferents when the fingertips interact with objects. Here we show that SA-IInail afferents reliably respond to fingertip forces comparable to those arising in everyday manipulations. Using a flat stimulus surface, we applied forces to the finger pad while recording impulse activity in 17 SA-IInail afferents. Ramp-and-hold forces (amplitude 4 N, rate 10 N/s) were applied normal to the skin, and at 10, 20, or 30 degrees from the normal in eight radial directions with reference to the primary site of contact (25 force directions in total). All afferents responded to the force stimuli, and the responsiveness of all but one afferents was broadly tuned to a preferred direction of force. The preferred directions among afferents were distributed all around the angular space, suggesting that the population of SA-IInail afferents could encode force direction. We conclude that signals in the population of SA-IInail afferents terminating in the nail walls contain vectorial information about fingertip forces. The particular tactile features of contacted surfaces would less influence force-related signals in SA-IInail afferents than force-related signals present in afferents terminating in the volar skin areas that directly contact objects.

  • 10.
    Bowman, Miles C
    et al.
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies and Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, John Randall
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies and Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
    Eye-hand coordination in a sequential target contact task2009In: Experimental Brain Research, ISSN 0014-4819, E-ISSN 1432-1106, Vol. 195, no 2, p. 273-283Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Most object manipulation tasks involve a series of actions demarcated by mechanical contact events, and gaze is typically directed to the locations of these events as the task unfolds. Here, we examined the timing of gaze shifts relative to hand movements in a task in which participants used a handle to contact sequentially five virtual objects located in a horizontal plane. This task was performed both with and without visual feedback of the handle position. We were primarily interested in whether gaze shifts, which in our task shifted from a given object to the next about 100 ms after contact, were predictive or triggered by tactile feedback related to contact. To examine this issue, we included occasional catch contacts where forces simulating contact between the handle and object were removed. In most cases, removing force did not alter the timing of gaze shifts irrespective of whether or not vision of handle position was present. However, in about 30% of the catch contacts, gaze shifts were delayed. This percentage corresponded to the fraction of contacts with force feedback in which gaze shifted more than 130 ms after contact. We conclude that gaze shifts are predictively controlled but timed so that the hand actions around the time of contact are captured in central vision. Furthermore, a mismatch between the expected and actual tactile information related to the contact can lead to a reorganization of gaze behavior for gaze shifts executed greater than 130 ms after a contact event.

  • 11. Brasselet, R
    et al.
    Johansson, Roland
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Coenen, Olivier
    Arleo, Angelo
    Fast encoding/decoding of haptic microneurography data based on first spike latencies2009In: BMC Neuroscience, E-ISSN 1471-2202, Vol. 10, no 1, p. 349-350Article in journal (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    During haptic exploration tasks, forces are applied to the fingertips, which constitute the most sensitive parts of the hand and are prominently involved in object manipulation/ recognition tasks. The epidermis is innervated with thousands of sensory cells, called mechanoreceptors, that encode the mechanical indentations and deformations of the skin. These cells project directly to a dorsal column nucleus called the cuneate nucleus (CN) that constitutes the first synaptic relay to the central nervous system.

    Recent microneurography studies in humans [1] suggest that the relative timing of impulses from ensembles of mechanoreceptor afferents can convey information about important contact parameters faster than the fastest possible rate code and are fast enough to account for the use of tactile signals in natural manipulation.

    Here, we study a biologically plausible encoding/decoding process accounting for the relative spike timing of the signals propagating from peripheral nerve fibres onto second- order CN neurons. The CN is modelled as a population of 450 spiking neurons receiving as inputs the spatiotemporal responses of real mechanoreceptors obtained via microneurography recordings in humans. An information-theoretic approach is used to quantify the efficiency of the haptic discrimination process. To this extent, a novel entropy definition has been derived analytically.

    This measure proved to be a promising decoding scheme to generalize the classical Shannon's entropy for spiking neural codes, and it allowed us to compute mutual information (MI) in the presence of a large output space (i.e., 450 CN spike train responses) with a 1 ms temporal precision. Using a plasticity rule designed to maximise information transfer explicitly [2], a complete discrimination of 81 distinct stimuli occurred already within 40 ms after the first afferent spike, whereas a partial discrimination (80% of the maximum MI) was possible as rapidly as 20 ms.

    The rationale behind this study was to corroborate our working hypothesis that the CN does not constitute a mere synaptic relay, but it rather conveys an optimal contextual account (in terms of both fast and reliable information transfer) of peripheral tactile inputs to downstream structures (in particular to the thalamus and the cerebellum). Therefore, the CN may play a relevant role in the early processing of haptic information and it would constitute an important component of the haptic classification process (e.g., by facilitating fast discrimination of haptic contexts, minimising destructive interference over lifelong learning, and maximising memorycapacity).

  • 12. Brasselet, Romain
    et al.
    Johansson, Roland
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Arleo, Angelo
    Optimal context separation of spiking haptic signals by second-order somatosensory neurons2009In: Advances in neural information processing systems, Vol. 22, p. 180-188Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    We study an encoding/decoding mechanism accounting for the relative spike timing of the signals propagating from peripheral nerve fibers to second-order somatosensory neurons in the cuneate nucleus (CN). The CN is modeled as a population of spiking neurons receiving as inputs the spatiotemporal responses of real mechanoreceptors obtained via microneurography recordings in humans. The efficiency of the haptic discrimination process is quantified by a novel definition of entropy that takes into full account the metrical properties of the spike train space. This measure proves to be a suitable decoding scheme for generalizing the classical Shannon entropy to spike-based neural codes. It permits an assessment of neurotransmission in the presence of a large output space (i.e. hundreds of spike trains) with 1 ms temporal precision. It is shown that the CN population code performs a complete discrimination of 81 distinct stimuli already within 35 ms of the first afferent spike, whereas a partial discrimination (80% of the maximum information transmission) is possible as rapidly as 15 ms.

    This study suggests that the CN may not constitute a mere synaptic relay along the somatosensory pathway but, rather, it may convey optimal contextual accounts (in terms of fast and reliable information

    transfer) of peripheral tactile inputs to downstream structures of the central nervous system.

  • 13. Brasselet, Romain
    et al.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB).
    Arleo, Angelo
    Isometric coding of spiking haptic signals by peripheral somatosensory neurons2011In: Advances in Computational Intelligence: 11th international work-conference on artificial neural networks, IWANN 2011, Torremolinos-Málaga, Spain, June 8-10, 2011, Proceedings, Part I / [ed] Cabestany, J; Rojas, I; Joya, G, Berlin: Springer Berlin/Heidelberg, 2011, p. 528-536Conference paper (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    We study how primary tactile afferents encode relevant contact features to mediate early processing of haptic information. In this paper, we apply metrical information theory to perform temporal decoding of human microneurography data. First, we enrich the theory by deriving a novel spike train metrics inspired by neuronal computation. This spike train metrics can be interpreted biologically and its behaviour is not influenced by spontaneous activity, which decreases the ability of other spike metrics to separate input patterns. Second, we employ our metrical information tools to demonstrate that primary spiking signals allow a putative neural decoder to go beyond stimulus discrimination. They transmit information about geometrical properties of the input space. We show that first-spike latencies are enough to guarantee maximum information transmission of tactile stimuli. However, entire primary spike trains are necessary to encode isometric representations of the stimulus space, a likely basis for generalisation in haptic perception.

  • 14.
    Brasselet, Romain
    et al.
    Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Arleo, Angelo
    Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris.
    Quantifying neurotransmission reliability through metrics-based information analysis2011In: Neural Computation, ISSN 0899-7667, E-ISSN 1530-888X, Vol. 23, no 4, p. 852-881Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    We set forth an information-theoretical measure to quantify neurotransmission reliability while taking into full account the metrical properties of the spike train space. This parametric information analysis relies on similarity measures induced by the metrical relations between neural responses as spikes flow in. Thus, in order to assess the entropy, the conditional entropy, and the overall information transfer, this method does not require any a priori decoding algorithm to partition the space into equivalence classes. It therefore allows the optimal parameters of a class of distances to be determined with respect to information transmission. To validate the proposed information-theoretical approach, we study precise temporal decoding of human somatosensory signals recorded using microneurography experiments. For this analysis, we employ a similarity measure based on the Victor-Purpura spike train metrics. We show that with appropriate parameters of this distance, the relative spike times of the mechanoreceptors? responses convey enough information to perform optimal discrimination?defined as maximum metrical information and zero conditional entropy?of 81 distinct stimuli within 40 ms of the first afferent spike. The proposed information-theoretical measure proves to be a suitable generalization of Shannon mutual information in order to consider the metrics of temporal codes explicitly. It allows neurotransmission reliability to be assessed in the presence of large spike train spaces (e.g., neural population codes) with high temporal precision.

  • 15.
    Burstedt, Magnus K
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Birznieks, Ingvars
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Edin, Benoni B
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Control of forces applied by individual fingers engaged in restraint of an active object.1997In: Journal of Neurophysiology, ISSN 0022-3077, E-ISSN 1522-1598, Vol. 78, no 1, p. 117-128Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    We investigated the coordination of fingertip forces in subjects who used the tips of two fingers to restrain an instrumented manipulandum with horizontally oriented grip surfaces. The grip surfaces were subjected to tangential pulling forces in the distal direction in relation to the fingers. The subjects used either the right index and middle fingers (unimanual grasp) or both index fingers (bimanual grasp) to restrain the manipulandum. To change the frictional condition at the digit-object interfaces, either both grip surfaces were covered with sandpaper or one was covered with sandpaper and the other with rayon. The forces applied normally and tangentially to the grip surfaces were measured separately at each plate along with the position of the plates. Subjects could have performed the present task successfully with many different force distributions between the digits. However, they partitioned the load in a manner that reflected the frictional condition at the local digit-object interfaces. When both digits contacted sandpaper, they typically partitioned the load symmetrically, but when one digit made contact with rayon and the other with sandpaper, the digit contacting the less slippery material (sandpaper) took up a larger part of the load. The normal forces were also influenced by the frictional condition, but they reflected the average friction at the two contact sites rather than the local friction. That is, when friction was low at one of the digit-object interfaces, only the applied normal forces increased at both digits. Thus sensory information related to the local frictional condition at the respective digit-object interfaces controlled the normal force at both digits. The normal:tangential force ratio at each digit appeared to be a controlled variable. It was adjusted independently at each digit to the minimum ratio required to prevent frictional slippage, keeping an adequate safety margin against slippage. This was accomplished by the scaling of the normal forces to the average friction and by partitioning of the load according to frictional differences between the digit-object interfaces. In conclusion, by adjusting the normal:tangential force ratios to the local frictional condition, subjects avoided excessive normal forces at the individual digit-object interfaces, and by partitioning the load according the frictional difference, subjects avoided high normal forces. Thus the local frictional condition at the separate digit-object interfaces is one factor that can strongly influence the distribution of forces across digits engaged in a manipulative act.

  • 16.
    Burstedt, Magnus K
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Edin, Benoni B
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Coordination of fingertip forces during human manipulation can emerge from independent neural networks controlling each engaged digit.1997In: Experimental Brain Research, ISSN 0014-4819, E-ISSN 1432-1106, Vol. 117, no 1, p. 67-79Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    We investigated the coordination of fingertip forces in subjects who lifted an object (i) using the index finger and thumb of their right hand, (ii) using their left and right index fingers, and (iii) cooperatively with another subject using the right index finger. The forces applied normal and tangential to the two parallel grip surfaces of the test object and the vertical movement of the object were recorded. The friction between the object and the digits was varied independently at each surface between blocks of trials by changing the materials covering the grip surfaces. The object's weight and surface materials were held constant across consecutive trials. The performance was remarkably similar whether the task was shared by two subjects or carried out unimanually or bimanually by a single subject. The local friction was the main factor determining the normal:tangential force ratio employed at each digit-object interface. Irrespective of grasp configuration, the subjects adapted the force ratios to the local frictional conditions such that they maintained adequate safety margins against slips at each of the engaged digits during the various phases of the lifting task. Importantly, the observed force adjustments were not obligatory mechanical consequences of the task. In all three grasp configurations an incidental slip at one of the digits elicited a normal force increase at both engaged digits such that the normal:tangential force ratio was restored at the non-slipping digit and increased at the slipping digit. The initial development of the fingertip forces prior to object lift-off revealed that the subjects employed digit-specific anticipatory mechanisms using weight and frictional experiences in the previous trial. Because grasp stability was accomplished in a similar manner whether the task was carried out by one subject or cooperatively by two subjects, it was concluded that anticipatory adjustments of the fingertip forces can emerge from the action of anatomically independent neural networks controlling each engaged digit. In contrast, important aspects of the temporal coordination of the digits was organized by a "higher level" sensory-based control that influenced both digits. In lifts by single subjects this control was mast probably based on tactile and visual input and on communication between neural control mechanisms associated with each digit. In the two-subject grasp configuration this synchronization information was based on auditory and visual cues.

  • 17. Diamond, Jonathan S.
    et al.
    Nashed, Joseph Y.
    Johansson, Roland S.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Wolpert, Daniel M.
    Flanagan, J. Randall
    Rapid Visuomotor Corrective Responses during Transport of Hand-Held Objects Incorporate Novel Object Dynamics2015In: Journal of Neuroscience, ISSN 0270-6474, E-ISSN 1529-2401, Vol. 35, no 29, p. 10572-10580Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Numerous studies have shown that people are adept at learning novel object dynamics, linking applied force and motion, when performing reaching movements with hand-held objects. Here we investigated whether the control of rapid corrective arm responses, elicited in response to visual perturbations, has access to such newly acquired knowledge of object dynamics. Participants first learned to make reaching movements while grasping an object subjected to complex load forces that depended on the distance and angle of the hand from the start position. During a subsequent test phase, we examined grip and load force coordination during corrective arm movements elicited (within similar to 150 ms) in response to viewed sudden lateral shifts (1.5 cm) in target or object position. We hypothesized that, if knowledge of object dynamics is incorporated in the control of the corrective responses, grip force changes would anticipate the unusual load force changes associated with the corrective arm movements so as to support grasp stability. Indeed, we found that the participants generated grip force adjustments tightly coupled, both spatially and temporally, to the load force changes associated with the arm movement corrections. We submit that recently learned novel object dynamics are effectively integrated into sensorimotor control policies that support rapid visually driven arm corrective actions during transport of hand held objects.

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  • 18.
    Edin, Benoni B
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Westling, Göran
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Independent control of human finger-tip forces at individual digits during precision lifting.1992In: Journal of Physiology, ISSN 0022-3751, E-ISSN 1469-7793, Vol. 450, p. 547-64Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    1. Subjects lifted an object with two parallel vertical grip surfaces and a low centre of gravity using the precision grip between the tips of the thumb and index finger. The friction between the object and the digits was varied independently at each digit by changing the contact surfaces between lifts. 2. With equal frictional conditions at the two grip surfaces, the finger-tip forces were about equal at the two digits, i.e. similar vertical lifting forces and grip forces were used. With different frictions, the digit touching the most slippery surface exerted less vertical lifting force than the digit in contact with the rougher surface. Thus, the safety margins against slips were similar at the two digits whether they made contact with surfaces of similar or different friction. 3. During digital nerve block, large and variable safety margins were employed, i.e. the finger-tip forces did not reflect the surface conditions. Slips occurred more frequently than under normal conditions (14% of all trials with nerve block, <5% during normal conditions), and they only occasionally elicited compensatory adjustments of the finger-tip forces and then at prolonged latencies. 4. The partitioning of the vertical lifting force between the digits was thus dependent on digital afferent inputs and resulted from active automatic regulation and not just from the mechanics of the task. 5. The safety margin employed at a particular digit was mainly determined by the frictional conditions encountered by the digit, and to a lesser degree by the surface condition at the same digit in the previous lift (anticipatory control), but was barely influenced by the surface condition at the other digit. 6. It was concluded that the finger-tip forces were independently controlled for each digit according to a 'non-slip strategy'. The findings suggest that the force distribution among the digits represents a digit-specific lower-level neural control establishing a stable grasp. This control relies on digit-specific afferent inputs and somatosensory memory information. It is apparently subordinated to a higher-level control that is related to the total vertical lifting and normal forces required by the lifting task and the relevant physical properties of the manipulated object.

  • 19.
    Ehrsson, H Henrik
    et al.
    Karolinska Institutet.
    Fagergren, Anders
    Karolinska Institutet.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Forssberg, Hans
    Karolinska Institutet.
    Evidence for the involvement of the posterior parietal cortex in coordination of fingertip forces for grasp stability in manipulation2003In: Journal of Neurophysiology, ISSN 0022-3077, E-ISSN 1522-1598, Vol. 90, no 5, p. 2978-2986Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Grasp stability during object manipulation is achieved by the grip forces applied normal to the grasped surfaces increasing and decreasing in phase with increases and decreases of destabilizing load forces applied tangential to the grasped surfaces. This force coordination requires that the CNS anticipates the grip forces that match the requirements imposed by the self-generated load forces. Here, we use functional MRI (fMRI) to study neural correlates of the grip-load force coordination in a grip-load force task in which six healthy humans attempted to lift an immovable test object held between the tips of the right index finger and thumb. The recorded brain activity was compared with the brain activity obtained in two control tasks in which the same pair of digits generated forces with similar time courses and magnitudes; i.e., a grip force task where the subjects only pinched the object and did not apply load forces, and a load force task, in which the subjects applied vertical forces to the object without generating grip forces. Thus neither the load force task nor the grip force task involved coordinated grip-load forces, but together they involved the same grip force and load force output. We found that the grip-load force task was specifically associated with activation of a section of the right intraparietal cortex, which is the first evidence for involvement of the posterior parietal cortex in the sensorimotor control of coordinated grip and load forces in manipulation. We suggest that this area might represents a node in the network of cortical and subcortical regions that implement anticipatory control of fingertip forces for grasp stability.

  • 20. Flanagan, J R
    et al.
    King, S
    Wolpert, D M
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Sensorimotor prediction and memory in object manipulation2001In: Canadian journal of experimental psychology, ISSN 1196-1961, E-ISSN 1878-7290, Vol. 55, no 2, p. 87-95Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    When people lift objects of different size but equal weight, they initially employ too much force for the large object and too little force for the small object. However, over repeated lifts of the two objects, they learn to suppress the size-weight association used to estimate force requirements and appropriately scale their lifting forces to the true and equal weights of the objects. Thus, sensorimotor memory from previous lifts comes to dominate visual size information in terms of force prediction. Here we ask whether this sensorimotor memory is transient, preserved only long enough to perform the task, or more stable. After completing an initial lift series in which they lifted equally weighted large and small objects in alternation, participants then repeated the lift series after delays of 15 minutes or 24 hours. In both cases, participants retained information about the weights of the objects and used this information to predict the appropriate fingertip forces. This preserved sensorimotor memory suggests that participants acquired internal models of the size-weight stimuli that could be used for later prediction.

  • 21. Flanagan, J Randall
    et al.
    Bittner, Jennifer P
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Experience can change distinct size-weight priors engaged in lifting objects and judging their weights.2008In: Current Biology, ISSN 0960-9822, E-ISSN 1879-0445, Vol. 18, no 22, p. 1742-7Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    The expectation that object weight increases with size guides the control of manipulatory actions [1-6] and also influences weight perception. Thus, the size-weight illusion, whereby people perceive the smaller of two equally weighted objects to be heavier, is thought to arise because weight is judged relative to expected weight that, for a given family of objects, increases with size [2, 7]. Here, we show that the fundamental expectation that weight increases with size can be altered by experience and neither is hard-wired nor becomes crystallized during development. We demonstrate that multiday practice in lifting a set of blocks whose color and texture are the same and whose weights vary inversely with volume gradually attenuates and ultimately inverts the size-weight illusion tested with similar blocks. We also show that in contrast to this gradual change in the size-weight illusion, the sensorimotor system rapidly learns to predict the inverted object weights, as revealed by lift forces. Thus, our results indicate that distinct adaptive size-weight maps, or priors, underlie weight predictions made in lifting objects and in judging their weights. We suggest that size-weight priors that influence weight perception change slowly because they are based on entire families of objects. Size-weight priors supporting action are more flexible, and adapt more rapidly, because they are tuned to specific objects and their current state.

  • 22. Flanagan, J Randall
    et al.
    Bowman, Miles C
    Johansson, Roland
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Control strategies in object manipulation tasks.2006In: Current Opinion in Neurobiology, ISSN 0959-4388, Vol. 16, no 6, p. 650-9Article in journal (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The remarkable manipulative skill of the human hand is not the result of rapid sensorimotor processes, nor of fast or powerful effector mechanisms. Rather, the secret lies in the way manual tasks are organized and controlled by the nervous system. At the heart of this organization is prediction. Successful manipulation requires the ability both to predict the motor commands required to grasp, lift, and move objects and to predict the sensory events that arise as a consequence of these commands.

  • 23.
    Flanagan, J Randall
    et al.
    Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Action plans used in action observation2003In: Nature, ISSN 0028-0836, E-ISSN 1476-4687, ISSN 1476-4687, Vol. 424, no 6950, p. 769-771Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    How do we understand the actions of others? According to the direct matching hypothesis, action understanding results from a mechanism that maps an observed action onto motor representations of that action. Although supported by neurophysiological and brain-imaging studies, direct evidence for this hypothesis is sparse. In visually guided actions, task-specific proactive eye movements are crucial for planning and control. Because the eyes are free to move when observing such actions, the direct matching hypothesis predicts that subjects should produce eye movements similar to those produced when they perform the tasks. If an observer analyses action through purely visual means, however, eye movements will be linked reactively to the observed action. Here we show that when subjects observe a block stacking task, the coordination between their gaze and the actor's hand is predictive, rather than reactive, and is highly similar to the gaze-hand coordination when they perform the task themselves. These results indicate that during action observation subjects implement eye motor programs directed by motor representations of manual actions and thus provide strong evidence for the direct matching hypothesis.

  • 24.
    Flanagan, J Randall
    et al.
    Department of Psychology and Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
    Merritt, Kyle
    Department of Psychology and Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Predictive mechanisms and object representations used in object manipulation2009In: Sensorimotor Control of Grasping: Physiology and Pathophysiology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press , 2009, p. 161-177Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
    Abstract [en]

    Skilled object manipulation requires the ability to estimate, in advance, the motor commands needed to achieve desired sensory outcomes and the ability to predict the sensory consequences of the motor commands. Because the mapping between motor commands and sensory outcomes depends on the physical properties of grasped objects, the motor system may store and access internal models of objects in order to estimate motor commands and predict sensory consequences. In this chapter, we outline evidence for internal models and discuss their role in object manipulation tasks. We also consider the relationship between internal models of objects employedby the sensorimotor system and representations of the same objects used by the perceptual system to make judgments about objects.

  • 25.
    Flanagan, J Randall
    et al.
    Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
    Rotman, Gerben
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
    Reichelt, Andreas F
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    The role of observers' gaze behaviour when watching object manipulation tasks: predicting and evaluating the consequences of action2013In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences, ISSN 0962-8436, E-ISSN 1471-2970, Vol. 368, no 1628, p. 20130063-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    When watching an actor manipulate objects, observers, like the actor, naturally direct their gaze to each object as the hand approaches and typically maintain gaze on the object until the hand departs. Here, we probed the function of observers' eye movements, focusing on two possibilities: (i) that observers' gaze behaviour arises from processes involved in the prediction of the target object of the actor's reaching movement and (ii) that this gaze behaviour supports the evaluation of mechanical events that arise from interactions between the actor's hand and objects. Observers watched an actor reach for and lift one of two presented objects. The observers' task was either to predict the target object or judge its weight. Proactive gaze behaviour, similar to that seen in self-guided action-observation, was seen in the weight judgement task, which requires evaluating mechanical events associated with lifting, but not in the target prediction task. We submit that an important function of gaze behaviour in self-guided action observation is the evaluation of mechanical events associated with interactions between the hand and object. By comparing predicted and actual mechanical events, observers, like actors, can gain knowledge about the world, including information about objects they may subsequently act upon.

  • 26. Flanagan, J Randall
    et al.
    Terao, Yasuo
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Gaze behavior when reaching to remembered targets.2008In: Journal of Neurophysiology, ISSN 0022-3077, E-ISSN 1522-1598, Vol. 100, no 3, p. 1533-43Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    People naturally direct their gaze to visible hand movement goals. Doing so improves reach accuracy through use of signals related to gaze position and visual feedback of the hand. Here, we studied where people naturally look when acting on remembered target locations. Four targets were presented on a screen, in peripheral vision, while participants fixed a central cross (encoding phase). Four seconds later, participants used a pen to mark the remembered locations while free to look wherever they wished (recall phase). Visual references, including the screen and the cross, were present throughout. During recall, participants neither looked at the marked locations nor prevented eye movements. Instead, gaze behavior was erratic and was comprised of gaze shifts loosely coupled in time and space with hand movements. To examine whether eye and hand movements during encoding affected gaze behavior during recall, in additional encoding conditions, participants marked the visible targets with either free gaze or with central cross fixation or just looked at the targets. All encoding conditions yielded similar erratic gaze behavior during recall. Furthermore, encoding mode did not influence recall performance, suggesting that participants, during recall, did not exploit sensorimotor memories related to hand and gaze movements during encoding. Finally, we recorded a similar lose coupling between hand and eye movements during an object manipulation task performed in darkness after participants had viewed the task environment. We conclude that acting on remembered versus visible targets can engage fundamentally different control strategies, with gaze largely decoupled from movement goals during memory-guided actions.

  • 27.
    Flanagan, J Randall
    et al.
    Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
    Vetter, Philipp
    University College London, Queen Square, London.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Wolpert, Daniel M
    University College London, Queen Square, London.
    Prediction precedes control in motor learning2003In: Current Biology, ISSN 0960-9822, E-ISSN 1879-0445, Vol. 13, no 2, p. 146-150, Article Number: PII S0960-9822(03)00007-1Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Skilled motor behavior relies on the brain learning both to control the body and predict the consequences of this control. Prediction turns motor commands into expected sensory consequences, whereas control turns desired consequences into motor commands. To capture this symmetry, the neural processes underlying prediction and control are termed the forward and inverse internal models, respectively. Here, we investigate how these two fundamental processes are related during motor learning. We used an object manipulation task in which subjects learned to move a hand-held object with novel dynamic properties along a prescribed path. We independently and simultaneously measured subjects' ability to control their actions and to predict their consequences. We found different time courses for predictor and controller learning, with prediction being learned far more rapidly than control. In early stages of manipulating the object, subjects could predict the consequences of their actions, as measured by the grip force they used to grasp the object, but could not generate appropriate actions for control, as measured by their hand trajectory. As predicted by several recent theoretical models of sensorimotor control, our results indicate that people can learn to predict the consequences of their actions before they can learn to control their actions.

  • 28. Grigoriadis, A
    et al.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB).
    Trulsson, M
    Temporal profile and amplitude of human masseter muscle activity is adapted to food properties during individual chewing cycles2014In: Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, E-ISSN 1365-2842, Vol. 41, no 5, p. 367-373Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Jaw actions adapt to the changing properties of food that occur during a masticatory sequence. In the present study, we investigated how the time-varying activation profile of the masseter muscle changes during natural chewing in humans and how food hardness affects the profile. We recorded surface electromyography (EMG) of the masseter muscle together with the movement of the lower jaw in 14 healthy young adults (mean age 22) when chewing gelatin-based model food of two different hardness. The muscle activity and the jaw kinematics were analysed for different phases of the chewing cycles. The increase in the excitatory drive of the masseter muscle was biphasic during the jaw-closing phase showing early and late components. The transition between these components occurred approximately at the time of tooth-food contact. During the masticatory sequence, when the food was particularised, the size of the early component as well as the peak amplitude of the EMG significantly decreased along with a reduction in the duration of the jaw-closing phase. Except for amplitude scaling, food hardness did not appreciably affect the muscle's activation profile. In conclusion, when chewing food during natural conditions, masseter muscle activation adapted throughout the masticatory sequence, principally during the jaw-closing phase and influenced both early and late muscle activation components. Furthermore, the adaptation of jaw actions to food hardness was affected by amplitude scaling of the magnitude of the muscle activity throughout the masticatory sequence.

  • 29.
    Grigoriadis, Anastasios
    et al.
    Karolinska Institutet.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Trulsson, Mats
    Karolinska Institutet.
    Adaptability of mastication in people with implant-supported bridges2011In: Journal of Clinical Periodontology, ISSN 0303-6979, E-ISSN 1600-051X, Vol. 38, no 4, p. 395-404Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Objectives: We aimed to determine whether people with implant-supported bridges in both jaws, thus lacking periodontal receptors, adjust jaw muscle activity to food hardness during mastication.

    Materials and Methods: Thirteen participants with implant-supported bridges in both jaws and 13 with natural dentition chewed and swallowed soft and hard gelatine-based model foods, while electromyographic (EMG) activity of the masseter and temporal muscles was recorded bilaterally together with the position of the mandible. Data were compared by using a mixed-design anova model and a P-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

    Results: The number of chewing cycles and the duration of the masticatory sequence increased with food hardness in both groups, whereas vertical and lateral amplitude of the jaw movements, and the jaw-opening velocity, increased significantly with food hardness only for the dentate group. Although both groups adapted the EMG activity to the hardness of the food, the implant participants showed a significantly weaker increase in EMG activity with increased food hardness early during the masticatory sequence than the dentate participants did. In addition, the implant group showed significantly less reduction of muscle activity during the progression of the masticatory sequence than the dentate group.

    Conclusions: People with implant-supported bridges show an impaired adaptation of the muscle activity to food hardness during mastication. We suggest that a lack of sensory signals from periodontal mechanoreceptors accounts for the impairment.

  • 30.
    Häger-Ross, Charlotte
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Cole, KJ
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Grip-force responses to unanticipated object loading: load direction reveals body- and gravity-referenced intrinsic task variables1996In: Experimental Brain Research, ISSN 0014-4819, E-ISSN 1432-1106, Vol. 110, no 1, p. 142-150Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Humans preserve grasp stability by automatically regulating the grip forces when loads are applied tangentially to the grip surfaces of a manipulandum held in a precision grip. The effects of the direction of the load force in relation to the palm, trunk, and gravity were investigated in blindfolded subjects. Controlled, tangential load-forces were delivered in an unpredictable manner to the grip surface in contact with the index finger either in the distal and proximal directions (away from and toward the palm) or in the ulnar and radial directions (transverse to the palm). The hand was oriented in: (1) a standard position, with the forearm extended horizontally and anteriorly in intermediate pronosupination; (2) an inverted position, reversing the direction of radial and ulnar loads in relation to gravity; and (3) a horizontally rotated position, in which distal loads were directed toward the trunk. The amplitude of the grip-force responses (perpendicular to the grip surface) varied with the direction of load in a manner reflecting frictional anisotropies at the digit-object interface; that is, the subjects automatically scaled the grip responses to provide similar safety margins against frictional slips. For all hand positions, the time from onset of load increase to start of the grip-force increase was shorter for distal loads, which tended to pull the object out of the hand, than for proximal loads. Furthermore, this latency was shorter for loads in the direction of gravity, regardless of hand position. Thus, shorter latencies were observed when frictional forces alone opposed the load, while longer latencies occurred when gravity also opposed the load or when the more proximal parts of the digits and palm were positioned in the path of the load. These latency effects were due to different processing delays in the central nervous system and may reflect the preparation of a default response in certain critical directions. The response to loads in other directions would incur delays required to implement a new frictional scaling and a different muscle activation pattern to counteract the load forces. We conclude that load direction, referenced to gravity and to the hand's geometry, represents intrinsic task variables in the automatic processes that maintain a stable grasp on objects subjected to unpredictable load forces. In contrast, the grip-force safety margin against frictional slips did not vary systematically with respect to these task variables. Instead, the magnitude of the grip-force responses varied across load direction and hand orientation according to frictional differences providing similar safety margins supporting grasp stability.

  • 31.
    Häger-Ross, Charlotte
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Nondigital afferent input in reactive control of fingertip forces during precision grip1996In: Experimental Brain Research, ISSN 0014-4819, E-ISSN 1432-1106, Vol. 110, no 1, p. 131-141Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Sensory inputs from the digits are important in initiating and scaling automatic reactive grip responses that help prevent frictional slips when grasped objects are subjected to destabilizing load forces. In the present study we analyzed the contribution to grip-force control from mechanoreceptors located proximal to the digits when subjects held a small manipulandum between the tips of the thumb and index finger. Loads of various controlled amplitudes and rates were delivered tangential to the grip surfaces at unpredictable times. Grip forces (normal to the grip surfaces) and the position of the manipulandum were recorded. In addition, movements of hand and arm segments were assessed by recording the position of markers placed at critical points. Subjects performed test series during normal digital sensibility and during local anesthesia of the index finger and thumb. To grade the size of movements of tissues proximal to the digits caused by the loadings, three different conditions of arm and hand support were used; (1) in the hand-support condition the subjects used the three ulnar fingers to grasp a vertical dowel support and the forearm was supported in a vacuum cast; (2) in the forearm-support condition only the forearm was supported; finally, (3) in the no-support condition the arm was free. With normal digital sensibility the size of the movements proximal to the digits had small effects on the grip-force control. In contrast, the grip control was markedly influenced by the extent of such movements during digital anesthesia. The poorest control was observed in the hand-support condition, allowing essentially only digital movements. The grip responses were either absent or attenuated, with greatly prolonged onset latencies. In the forearm and no-support conditions, when marked wrist movements took place, both the frequency and the strength of grip-force responses were higher, and the grip response latencies were shorter. However, the performance never approached normal. It is concluded that sensory inputs from the digits are dominant in reactive grip control. However, nondigital sensory input may be used for some grip control during impaired digital sensibility. Furthermore, the quality of the control during impaired sensibility depends on the extent of movements evoked by the load in the distal, unanesthetized parts of the arm. The origin of these useful sensory signals is discussed.

  • 32.
    Jarocka, Ewa
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Pruszynski, J. Andrew
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University, ON, London, Canada; Department of Psychology, Western University, ON, London, Canada; Robarts Research Institute, Western University, ON, London, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, ON, London, Canada.
    Johansson, Roland S.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Human touch receptors are sensitive to spatial details on the scale of single fingerprint ridges2021In: Journal of Neuroscience, ISSN 0270-6474, E-ISSN 1529-2401, Vol. 41, no 16, p. 3622-3634Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Fast-adapting type 1 (FA-1) and slowly-adapting type 1 (SA-1) first-order tactile neurons provide detailed spatiotemporal tactile information when we touch objects with fingertips. The distal axon of these neuron types branches in the skin and innervates many receptor organs associated with fingerprint ridges (Meissner corpuscles and Merkel cell neurite complexes, respectively), resulting in heterogeneous receptive fields whose sensitivity topography includes many highly sensitive zones or "subfields." In experiments on humans of both sexes, using raised dots that tangentially scanned the receptive field we examined the spatial acuity of the subfields of FA-1 and SA-1 neurons and its constancy across scanning speed and direction. We report that the sensitivity of the subfield arrangement for both neuron types on average corresponds to a spatial period of ;0.4 mm and provide evidence that a subfield's spatial selectivity arises because its associated receptor organ measures mechanical events limited to a single papillary ridge. Accordingly, the sensitivity topography of a neuron's receptive fields is quite stable over repeated mappings and over scanning speeds representative of real-world hand use. The sensitivity topography is substantially conserved also for different scanning directions, but the subfields can be relatively displaced by directiondependent shear deformations of the skin surface.

  • 33.
    Jenmalm, Per
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Birznieks, Ingvars
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB).
    Goodwin, A. W.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Influences of object shape on responses in human tactile afferents under conditions characteristic for manipulationManuscript (Other academic)
  • 34.
    Johansson, R S
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Westling, G
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Bäckström, A
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, J R
    Queen's University, Kingston, Canada.
    Eye-hand coordination in object manipulation.2001In: Journal of Neuroscience, ISSN 0270-6474, E-ISSN 1529-2401, Vol. 21, no 17, p. 6917-32Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    We analyzed the coordination between gaze behavior, fingertip movements, and movements of the manipulated object when subjects reached for and grasped a bar and moved it to press a target-switch. Subjects almost exclusively fixated certain landmarks critical for the control of the task. Landmarks at which contact events took place were obligatory gaze targets. These included the grasp site on the bar, the target, and the support surface where the bar was returned after target contact. Any obstacle in the direct movement path and the tip of the bar were optional landmarks. Subjects never fixated the hand or the moving bar. Gaze and hand/bar movements were linked concerning landmarks, with gaze leading. The instant that gaze exited a given landmark coincided with a kinematic event at that landmark in a manner suggesting that subjects monitored critical kinematic events for phasic verification of task progress and subgoal completion. For both the obstacle and target, subjects directed saccades and fixations to sites that were offset from the physical extension of the objects. Fixations related to an obstacle appeared to specify a location around which the extending tip of the bar should travel. We conclude that gaze supports hand movement planning by marking key positions to which the fingertips or grasped object are subsequently directed. The salience of gaze targets arises from the functional sensorimotor requirements of the task. We further suggest that gaze control contributes to the development and maintenance of sensorimotor correlation matrices that support predictive motor control in manipulation.

  • 35.
    Johansson, Roland
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    Birznieks, Ingvars
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Integrative Medical Biology, Physiology.
    First spikes in ensembles of human tactile afferents code complex spatial fingertip events.2004In: Nature Neuroscience, ISSN 1097-6256, Vol. 7, no 2, p. 170-7Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    It is generally assumed that primary sensory neurons transmit information by their firing rates. However, during natural object manipulations, tactile information from the fingertips is used faster than can be readily explained by rate codes. Here we show that the relative timing of the first impulses elicited in individual units of ensembles of afferents reliably conveys information about the direction of fingertip force and the shape of the surface contacting the fingertip. The sequence in which different afferents initially discharge in response to mechanical fingertip events provides information about these events faster than the fastest possible rate code and fast enough to account for the use of tactile signals in natural manipulation.

  • 36.
    Johansson, Roland
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, JR
    Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
    Tactile sensory control of object manipulation in humans2008In: The senses, a comprehensive reference: somatotsensation Vol 6 / [ed] Esther Gardner, Jon H Kaas, Amsterdam: Elsevier , 2008, 1, Vol. 6, p. 67-86Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
    Abstract [en]

    Dexterous object manipulation is a hallmark of human skill. The versatility of the human hands in manipulation tasks depends on both the anatomical structure of the hands and the neural machinery that controls them. Research during the last 20 years has led to important advances in our understanding of the sensorimotor control mechanisms that underlie dexterous object manipulation. This article focuses on the sensorimotor control of fingertip actions with special emphasis on the role of tactile sensory mechanisms. It highlights the importance of sensory predictions, especially related to mechanical contact events around which manipulation tasks are organized, and analyzes how such predictions are influenced by tactile afferent signals recorded in single neurons in awake humans.

  • 37.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Dynamic use of tactile afferent signals in control of dexterous manipulation.2002In: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, ISSN 0065-2598, E-ISSN 2214-8019, Vol. 508, p. 397-410Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    During object manipulation, humans select and activate neural action programs acquired during ontogenetic development. A basic issue in understanding the control of dexterous manipulation is to learn how people use sensory information to adapt the output of these neural programs such that the fingertip actions matches the requirements imposed by the physical properties of the manipulated object, e.g., weight (mass), slipperiness, shape, and mass distribution. Although visually based identification processes contribute to predictions of required fingertip actions, the digital tactile sensors provide critical information for the control of fingertip forces. The present account deals with the tactile afferent signals from the digits during manipulation and focuses on some specific issues that the neural controller has to deal with to make use of tactile information.

  • 38.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Nervceller i samarbete2008In: Det friska och det sjuka nervsystemet, Umeå: Medicinska fakulteten , 2008Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
  • 39.
    Johansson, Roland S
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, J Randall
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Coding and use of tactile signals from the fingertips in object manipulation tasks2009In: Nature Reviews Neuroscience, ISSN 1471-003X, E-ISSN 1471-0048, Vol. 10, no 5, p. 345-359Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    During object manipulation tasks, the brain selects and implements action-phase controllers that use sensory predictions and afferent signals to tailor motor output to the physical properties of the objects involved. Analysis of signals in tactile afferent neurons and central processes in humans reveals how contact events are encoded and used to monitor and update task performance.

  • 40.
    Johansson, Roland S
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, J Randall
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology.
    Sensorimotor control of manipulation2009In: Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, Elsevier , 2009, 8, p. 593-604Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
  • 41.
    Johansson, Roland S
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, JR
    Sensory control of object manipulation2009In: Sensorimotor control of grasping: Physiology and pathophysiology / [ed] Dennis A. Nowak, Joachim Hermsdörfer., Cambridge: Cambridge books , 2009, p. 141-160Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
    Abstract [en]

    Series of action phases characterize natural object manipulation tasks where each phase is responsible for satisfying a task subgoal. Subgoal attainment typically corresponds to distinct mechanical contact events, either involving the making or breaking of contact between the digits and an object or between a held object and another object. Subgoals are realized by the brain selecting and sequentially implementing suitable action-phase controllers that use sensory predictions and afferents signals in specific ways to tailor the motor output in anticipation of requirements imposed by objects' physical properties. This chapter discusses the use of tactile and visual sensory information in this context. It highlights the importance of sensory predictions, especially related to the discrete and distinct sensory events associated with contact events linked to subgoal completion, and considers how sensory signals influence and interact with such predictions in the control of manipulation tasks.

  • 42.
    Johansson, Roland S.
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Flanagan, J.R.
    Queen's University, ON, Kingston, Canada.
    Tactile sensory control of object manipulation in humans2020In: The senses: a comprehensive reference / [ed] Jon H. Kaas; Leah Krubitzer, Elsevier, 2020, 2, p. 136-152Chapter in book (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Dexterous object manipulation is a hallmark of human skill. The versatility of the human hands in manipulation tasks depends on both the anatomical structure of the hands and the neural machinery that controls them. Research during the last 20 years has led to important advances in our understanding of the sensorimotor control mechanisms that underlie dexterous object manipulation. This article focuses on the sensorimotor control of fingertip actions with special emphasis on the role of tactile sensory mechanisms. It highlights the importance of sensory predictions, especially related to mechanical contact events around which manipulation tasks are organized, and analyzes how such predictions are influenced by tactile afferent signals recorded in single neurons in awake humans.

  • 43.
    Johansson, Roland S
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Häger, Charlotte
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Riso, Ronald
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Somatosensory control of precision grip during unpredictable pulling loads. II. Changes in load force rate.1992In: Experimental Brain Research, ISSN 0014-4819, E-ISSN 1432-1106, Vol. 89, no 1, p. 192-203Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    In the previous paper regarding the somatosensory control of the human precision grip, we concluded that the elicited automatic grip force adjustments are graded by the amplitude of the imposed loads when restraining an 'active' object subjected to unpredictable pulling forces (Johansson et al. 1992a). Using the same subjects and apparatus, the present study examines the capacity to respond to imposed load forces applied at various rates. Grip and load forces (forces normal and tangential to the grip surfaces) and the position of the object in the pulling direction (distal) were recorded. Trapezoidal load force profiles with plateau amplitudes of 2 N were delivered at the following rates of loading and unloading in an unpredictable sequence: 2 N/s, 4 N/s or 8 N/s. In addition, trials with higher load rate (32 N/s) at a low amplitude (0.7 N) were intermingled. The latencies between the start of the loading and the onset of the grip force response increased with decreasing load force rate. They were 80 +/- 9 ms, 108 +/- 13 ms, 138 +/- 27 ms and 174 +/- 39 ms for the 32, 8, 4 and 2 N/s rates, respectively. These data suggested that the grip response was elicited after a given minimum latency once a load amplitude threshold was exceeded. The amplitude of the initial rapid increase of grip force (i.e., the 'catch-up' response) was scaled by the rate of the load force, whereas its time course was similar for all load rates. This response was thus elicited as a unit, but its amplitude was graded by afferent information about the load rate arising very early during the loading. The scaling of the catch-up response was purposeful since it facilitated a rapid reconciliation of the ratio between the grip and load force to prevent slips. In that sense it apparently also compensated for the varying delays between the loading phase and the resultant grip force responses. However, modification of the catch-up response may occur during its course when the loading rate is altered prior to the grip force response or very early during the catch-up response itself. Hence, afferent information may be utilized continuously in updating the response although its motor expression may be confined to certain time contingencies. Moreover, this updating may take place after an extremely short latency (45-50 ms).

  • 44.
    Johansson, Roland S
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Riso, Ronald
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Häger, Charlotte
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Bäckström, Lars
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Somatosensory control of precision grip during unpredictable pulling loads. I. Changes in load force amplitude.1992In: Experimental Brain Research, ISSN 0014-4819, E-ISSN 1432-1106, Vol. 89, no 1, p. 181-191Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    In manipulating 'passive' objects, for which the physical properties are stable and therefore predictable, information essential for the adaptation of the motor output to the properties of the current object is principally based on 'anticipatory parameter control' using sensorimotor memories, i.e., an internal representation of the object's properties based on previous manipulative experiences. Somatosensory afferent signals only intervene intermittently according to an 'event driven' control policy. The present study is the first in a series concerning the control of precision grip when manipulating 'active' objects that exert unpredictable forces which cannot be adequately represented in a sensorimotor memory. Consequently, the manipulation may be more reliant on a moment-to-moment sensory control. Subjects who were prevented from seeing the hand used the precision grip to restrain a manipulandum with two parallel grip surfaces attached to a force motor which produced distally directed (pulling) loads tangential to the finger tips. The trapezoidal load profiles consisted of a loading phase (4 N/s), plateau phase and an unloading phase (4 N/s) returning the load force to zero. Three force amplitudes were delivered in an unpredictable sequence; 1 N, 2 N and 4 N. In addition, trials with higher load rate (32 N/s) at a low amplitude (0.7 N), were superimposed on various background loads. The movement of the manipulandum, the load forces and grip forces (normal to the grip surfaces) were recorded at each finger. The grip force automatically changed with the load force during the loading and unloading phases. However, the grip responses were initiated after a brief delay. The response to the loading phase was characterized by an initial fast force increase termed the 'catch-up' response, which apparently compensated for the response delay--the grip force adequately matched the current load demands by the end of the catch-up response. In ramps with longer lasting loading phases (amplitude greater than or equal to 2 N) the catch-up response was followed by a 'tracking' response, during which the grip force increased in parallel with load force and maintained an approximately constant force ratio that prevented frictional slips. The grip force during the hold phase was linearly related to the load force, with an intercept close to the grip force used prior to the loading. Likewise, the grip force responses evoked by the fast loadings superimposed on existing loads followed the same linear relationship.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

  • 45.
    Johansson, Roland
    et al.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology. Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå Centre for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI).
    Theorin, Anna
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Westling, Göran
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Andersson, Micael
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology. Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå Centre for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI).
    Ohki, Yukari
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Nyberg, Lars
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology. Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå Centre for Functional Brain Imaging (UFBI).
    How a lateralized brain supports symmetrical bimanual tasks2006In: PLoS biology, ISSN 1544-9173, E-ISSN 1545-7885, Vol. 4, no 6, p. e158-Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    A large repertoire of natural object manipulation tasks require precisely coupled symmetrical opposing forces by both hands on a single object. We asked how the lateralized brain handles this basic problem of spatial and temporal coordination. We show that the brain consistently appoints one of the hands as prime actor while the other assists, but the choice of acting hand is flexible. When study participants control a cursor by manipulating a tool held freely between the hands, the left hand becomes prime actor if the cursor moves directionally with the left-hand forces, whereas the right hand primarily acts if it moves with the opposing right-hand forces. In neurophysiological (electromyography, transcranial magnetic brain stimulation) and functional magnetic resonance brain imaging experiments we demonstrate that changes in hand assignment parallels a midline shift of lateralized activity in distal hand muscles, corticospinal pathways, and primary sensorimotor and cerebellar cortical areas. We conclude that the two hands can readily exchange roles as dominant actor in bimanual tasks. Spatial relationships between hand forces and goal motions determine hand assignments rather than habitual handedness. Finally, flexible role assignment of the hands is manifest at multiple levels of the motor system, from cortical regions all the way down to particular muscles.

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  • 46. Laschi, C
    et al.
    Asuni, G
    Guglielmelli, E
    Teti, G
    Johansson, Roland
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Konosu, H
    Wasik, Z
    Carrozza, MC
    Dario, P
    A bio-inspired predictive sensory-motor coordination scheme for robot reaching and preshaping2008In: Autonomous Robots, ISSN 0929-5593, E-ISSN 1573-7527, Vol. 25, no 1-2, p. 85-101Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    This paper presents a sensory-motor coordination scheme for a robot hand-arm-head system that provides the robot with the capability to reach an object while pre-shaping the fingers to the required grasp configuration and while predicting the tactile image that will be perceived after grasping. A model for sensory-motor coordination derived from studies in humans inspired the development of this scheme. A peculiar feature of this model is the prediction of the tactile image.The implementation of the proposed scheme is based on a neuro-fuzzy module that, after a learning phase, starting from visual data, calculates the position and orientation of the hand for reaching, selects the best-suited hand configuration, and predicts the tactile feedback. The implementation of the scheme on a humanoid robot allowed experimental validation of its effectiveness in robotics and provided perspectives on applications of sensory predictions in robot motor control.

  • 47. Laschi, Cecilia
    et al.
    Asuni, Gioel
    Teti, Giancarlo
    Carrozza, Maria Chiara
    Dario, Paolo
    Guglielmelli, Eugenio
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    A Bio-inspired Neural Sensory-Motor Coordination Scheme for Robot Reaching and Preshaping2006In: Proceedings of the First IEEE/RAS-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics : BioRob 2006: understanding how biological systems work, to guide the design of novel, high performance bio-inspired machines and to develop novel devices that can better act on, substitute parts of, and assist human beings, Piscataway, NJ: IEEE , 2006, p. 531-536Conference paper (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    We present a sensory-motor coordination scheme for a robot hand-arm-head system that provides the robot with the capability to reach for and to grasp an object, while pre-shaping the fingers to the required grasp configuration. A model for sensory-motor coordination derived from studies in humans inspired the development of the scheme. A special feature of this model is the prediction of the tactile image perceived after grasping. The proposed scheme is based on a neuro-fuzzy modnle that, after a learning phase, starting from visual data, calculates the position and orientation of the hand for grasping, selects the best-suited hand configuration, and predicts the tactile feedback after grasping. The implementation of the scheme on a humanoid robot ailowed experimental validation of its effectiveness in robotics and provided perspectives on applications of sensory predictions in robot motor control.

  • 48. Laschi, Cecilia
    et al.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Bio-inspired sensory-motor coordination2008In: Autonomous Robots, ISSN 0929-5593, E-ISSN 1573-7527, Vol. 25, no 1-2, p. 1-2Article in journal (Refereed)
  • 49.
    Macefield, Vaughan G
    et al.
    Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, UNSW, Barker St., Randwick, Sydney.
    Johansson, Roland S
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Loads applied tangential to a fingertip during an object restraint task can trigger short-latency as well as long-latency EMG responses in hand muscles.2003In: Experimental Brain Research, ISSN 0014-4819, E-ISSN 1432-1106, Vol. 152, no 2, p. 143-149Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Electrical stimulation of the digital nerves can cause short- and long-latency increases in electromyographic activity (EMG) of the hand muscles, but mechanical stimulation of primarily tactile afferents in the digits generally evokes only a long-latency increase in EMG. To examine whether such stimuli can elicit short-latency reflex responses, we recorded EMG over the first dorsal interosseous muscle when subjects (n=13) used the tip of the right index finger to restrain a horizontally oriented plate from moving when very brisk tangential forces were applied in the distal direction. The plate was subjected to ramp-and-hold pulling loads at two intensities (a 1-N load applied at 32 N/s or a 2-N load applied at 64 N/s) at times unpredictable to the subjects (mean interval 2 s; trial duration 500 ms). The contact surface of the manipulandum was covered with rayon--a slippery material. For each load, EMG was averaged for 128 consecutive trials with reference to the ramp onset. In all subjects, an automatic increase in grip force was triggered by the loads applied at 32 N/s; the mean onset latency of the EMG response was 59.8 +/- 0.9 (mean +/- SE) ms. In seven subjects (54%) this long-latency response was preceded by a weak short-latency excitation at 34.6 +/- 2.9 ms. With the loads applied at 64 N/s, the long-latency response occurred slightly earlier (58.9 +/- 1.7 ms) and, with one exception, all subjects generated a short-latency EMG response (34.9 +/- 1.3 ms). Despite the higher background grip force that subjects adopted during the stronger loads (4.9 +/- 0.3 N vs 2.5 +/- 0.2 N), the incidence of slips was higher--the manipulandum escaped from the grasp in 37 +/- 5% of trials with the 64 N/s ramps, but in only 18 +/- 4% with the 32-N/s ramps. The deformation of the fingertip caused by the tangential load, rather than incipient or overt slips, triggered the short-latency responses because such responses occurred even when the finger pad was fixed to the manipulandum with double-sided adhesive tape so that no slips occurred.

  • 50.
    McGarity-Shipley, Michael R.
    et al.
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, ON, Kingston, Canada.
    Jantz, Simona Markovik
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, ON, Kingston, Canada.
    Johansson, Roland S.
    Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Integrative Medical Biology (IMB), Physiology.
    Wolpert, Daniel M.
    Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, United States; Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, United States.
    Randall Flanagan, J.
    Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, ON, Kingston, Canada; Department of Psychology, Queen's University, ON, Kingston, Canada.
    Fast feedback responses to categorical sensorimotor errors that do not indicate error magnitude are optimized based on short and long term memory2023In: Journal of Neuroscience, ISSN 0270-6474, E-ISSN 1529-2401, Vol. 43, no 49Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Skilled motor performance depends critically on rapid corrective responses that act to preserve the goal of the movement in the face of perturbations. Although it is well established that the gain of corrective responses elicited while reaching towards objects adapts to different contexts, little is known about the adaptability of corrective responses supporting the manipulation of objects after they are grasped. Here we investigated the adaptability of the corrective response elicited when an object being lifted is heavier than expected and fails to lift off when predicted. This response involves a monotonic increase in vertical load force triggered, within ∼90 ms, by the absence of expected sensory feedback signaling lift-off, and terminated when actual lift-off occurs. Critically, because the actual weight of the object cannot be directly sensed at the moment the object fails to lift-off, any adaptation of the corrective response would have to be based on memory from previous lifts. We show that when humans, including men and women, repeatedly lift an object that, on occasional catch trials, increases from a baseline weight to a fixed heavier weight, they scale the gain of the response (i.e., the rate of force increase) to the heavier weight within 2-3 catch trials. We also show that the gain of the response scales, on the first catch trial, with the baseline weight of the object. Thus, the gain of the lifting response can be adapted by both short and long term experience. Finally, we demonstrate that this adaptation preserves the efficacy of the response across contexts.

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