| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
1Departments of Neurology, 2Neurobiology and Anatomy, and 3Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry; and the 4Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program, St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester, New York 14642
Submitted 10 May 2004; accepted in final form 20 June 2004
We studied the extent to which mechanical coupling and neuromuscular control limit finger independence by studying passive and active individuated finger movements in healthy adults. For passive movements, subjects relaxed while each finger was rotated into flexion and extension by a custom-built device. For active movements, subjects moved each finger into flexion and extension while attempting to keep the other, noninstructed fingers still. Active movements were performed through approximately the same joint excursions and at approximately the same speeds as the passive movements. We quantified how mechanical coupling limited finger independence from the passive movements, and quantified how neuromuscular control limited finger independence using an analysis that subtracted the indices obtained in the passive condition from those obtained in the active condition. Finger independence was generally similar during passive and active movements, but showed a trend toward less independence in the middle, ring, and little fingers during active, large-arc movements. Mechanical coupling limited the independence of the index, middle, and ring fingers to the greatest degree, followed by the little finger, and placed only negligible limitations on the independence of the thumb. In contrast, neuromuscular control primarily limited the independence of the ring, and little fingers during large-arc movements, and had minimal effects on the other fingers, especially during small-arc movements. For the movement conditions tested here, mechanical coupling between the fingers appears to be a major factor limiting the complete independence of finger movement.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. M. Radhakrishnan, S. N. Baker, and A. Jackson Learning a Novel Myoelectric-Controlled Interface Task J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2008; 100(4): 2397 - 2408. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. H. Thakur, A. J. Bastian, and S. S. Hsiao Multidigit Movement Synergies of the Human Hand in an Unconstrained Haptic Exploration Task J. Neurosci., February 6, 2008; 28(6): 1271 - 1281. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. S. Yu, S. L. Kilbreath, R. C. Fitzpatrick, and S. C. Gandevia Thumb and finger forces produced by motor units in the long flexor of the human thumb J. Physiol., September 15, 2007; 583(3): 1145 - 1154. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. S. Perlmutter and W. T. Thach Writer's cramp: Questions of causation Neurology, July 24, 2007; 69(4): 331 - 332. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. P. Coxon, C. M. Stinear, and W. D. Byblow Selective Inhibition of Movement J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2007; 97(3): 2480 - 2489. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. L. McIsaac and A. J. Fuglevand Motor-Unit Synchrony Within and Across Compartments of the Human Flexor Digitorum Superficialis J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2007; 97(1): 550 - 556. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Raghavan, E. Petra, J. W. Krakauer, and A. M. Gordon Patterns of Impairment in Digit Independence After Subcortical Stroke J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2006; 95(1): 369 - 378. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. M. Mosier, R. A. Scheidt, S. Acosta, and F. A. Mussa-Ivaldi Remapping Hand Movements in a Novel Geometrical Environment J Neurophysiol, December 1, 2005; 94(6): 4362 - 4372. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |
