Interactions between areas of the cortical grasping network

Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2011 Aug;21(4):565-70. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2011.05.021. Epub 2011 Jun 21.

Abstract

Skilled grasp is a sensorimotor process requiring the brain to extract sensory cues from the environment to shape a motor command. Although a large body of literature has focused on which brain areas either integrate the visual object's properties or control the motor output, it is still unclear how grasp-related information is transferred from one area to another. Understanding interactions between brain areas is crucial for the study of visuomotor transformations. Recently, new advances in both human and non-human primates have shown it is possible to study cortico-cortical interactions during different task contexts. This sheds new light on how brain areas are integrated in a dynamic network for controlling grasping actions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cerebral Cortex / anatomy & histology*
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiology*
  • Hand Strength / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Movement / physiology*
  • Nerve Net / physiology*
  • Neural Pathways / physiology
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology*