Abstract
The human hand demonstrates remarkable dexterity in its capacity to control precisely the forces involved in manipulating objects and the timing of movements during the execution of skilled motor tasks. In all of these endeavors, mechanoreceptors in the skin play a critical role in encoding the timing, magnitude, direction and spatial distribution of fingertip forces. When cutaneous inputs are absent or deficient, the hand is unable to compensate rapidly when an object begins to slip between the digits, and misdirected finger movements are not recognized and corrected. The control and perception of forces generated by the hand therefore relies on a close interplay between the sensory and motor systems. When sensory information changes, the capacity to control and modulate force can be disrupted and this in turn influences the perceived magnitude of the forces being produced. Cutaneous mechanoreceptors provide crucial information about the forces produced by the fingers and these inputs together with centrally generated corollary discharges are fundamental to the human perception of force.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R.S. Johansson, J.R. Flanagan, Coding and use of tactile signals from the fingertips in object manipulation tasks. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 10, 345–359 (2009)
L.A. Jones, S.J. Lederman, Human Hand Function (Oxford University Press, New York, 2006)
R.S. Johansson, G. Westling, Signals in tactile afferents from the fingers eliciting adaptive motor responses during precision grip. Exp. Brain Res. 66, 141–154 (1987)
D. Rempel, E. Serina, E. Klinenberg, B.J. Martin, T.J. Armstrong, J.A. Foulke, S. Natarajan, The effect of keyboard keyswitch make force on applied force and finger flexor muscle activity. Ergonomics 40, 800–808 (1997)
J.T. Dennerlein, C.D. Mote, D.M. Rempel, Control strategies for finger movement during touch typing: the role of the extrinsic muscles during a keystroke. Exp. Brain Res. 121, 1–6 (1998)
B.J. Martin, T.J. Armstrong, J.A. Foulke, S. Natarajan, E. Klinenberg, E. Serina, D. Rempel, Keyboard reaction force and finger flexor electromyograms during computer keyboard work. Hum. Factors 38, 654–664 (1996)
R.T. Krampe, K.A. Ericsson, Maintaining excellence: deliberate practice and elite performance in young and older pianists. J. Exp. Psych. Gen. 125, 331–359 (1996)
C. Palmer, Mapping musical thought to musical performance, J. Exp. Psychol. Human Percept. Perform. 15, 331–346 (1989)
A.M. Gordon, J.F. Soechting, Use of tactile afferent information in sequential finger movements. Exp. Brain Res. 107, 281–292 (1995)
A.M. Smith, S.H. Scott, Subjective scaling of smooth surface friction. J. Neurophysiol. 75, 1957–1962 (1996)
A.M. Smith, C.E. Chapman, M. Deslandes, J.-S. Langlais, M.-P. Thibodeau, Role of friction and tangential force variation in the subjective scaling of tactile roughness. Exp. Brain Res. 144, 211–223 (2002)
R.H. LaMotte, M.A. Srinivasan, Surface microgeometry: tactile perception and neural encoding, in Information Processing in the Somatosensory System, ed. by O. Franzen, J. Westman (Macmillan, London, 1991), pp. 49–58
M.A. Srinivasan, J.M. Whitehouse, R.H. LaMotte, Tactile detection of slip: surface microgeometry and peripheral neural codes. J. Neurophys. 63, 1323–1332 (1990)
S.J. Bolanowski, G.A. Gescheider, R.T. Verrillo, C.M. Checkosky, Four channels mediate the mechanical aspects of touch. JASA 84, 1680–1694 (1988)
L. Jami, Golgi tendon organs in mammalian skeletal muscle: functional properties and central action. Physiol. Rev. 72, 623–661 (1992)
M.P. Mileusnic, G.E. Loeb, Mathematical models of proprioceptors. II. Structure and function of the Golgi tendon organ. J. Neurophysiol. 96, 1789–1802 (2006)
G. Macefield, S.C. Gandevia, D. Burke, Perceptual responses to microstimulation of single afferents innervating joints, muscles and skin of the human hand. J. Physiol. 429, 113–129 (1990)
S.C. Gandevia, Kinesthesia: roles for afferent signals and motor commands, in Handbook of physiology. Section 12. Exercise: Regulation and integration of multiple systems, ed. by L. Rowell, J.T. Shepherd (Oxford University Press, New York, 1996), pp. 128–172
L.A. Jones, The senses of effort and force during fatiguing contractions, in Fatigue: Neural and Muscular Mechanisms, ed. by S.C. Gandevia, R.M. Enoka, A.J. McComas, D.G. Stuart, C.K. Thomas (Plenum, New York, 1995), pp. 305–313
M.R. Cutkosky, P.K. Wright, Modeling manufacturing grips and correlations with design of robotic hands. Proc. IEEE ICRA 3, 1533–1539 (1986)
C.L. MacKenzie, T. Iberall, The Grasping Hand (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1994)
V. Mathiowetz, N. Kashman, G. Volland, K. Weber, M. Dowe, S. Rogers, Grip and pinch strength: normative data for adults. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehab. 66, 69–72 (1985)
H.-N. Ho, L.A. Jones, Modeling the thermal responses of the skin surface during hand-object interactions. J. Biomech. Eng. 130, 21005-1–21005-8 (2008)
E.M. Meftah, L. Belingard, C.E. Chapman, Relative effects of the spatial and temporal characteristics of scanned surfaces on human perception of tactile roughness using passive touch. Exp. Brain Res. 132, 351–361 (2000)
L.A. Jones, M. Berris, Material discrimination and thermal perception, in IEEE Proceedings 11th on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environment and Teleoperator Systems, pp. 171–178 (2003)
B.B. Edin, G. Westling, R.S. Johansson, Independent control of human finger-tip forces at individual digits during precision lifting. J. Physiol. 450, 547–564 (1992)
L.A. Jones, Visual and haptic feedback in the control of force. Exp. Brain Res. 130, 269–272 (2000)
N. Mai, M. Avarello, P. Bolsinger, Maintenance of low isometric forces during prehensile grasping. Neuropsychol. 23, 805–812 (1985)
H.Z. Tan, B. Eberman, M.A. Srinivasan, B. Cheng, Human factors for the design of force-reflecting haptic interfaces. Proc. ASME Dyn. Sys. Cont. Div. DSC. 55–1, 353–359 (1994)
M. Schieber, M. Santello, Hand function: Peripheral and central constraints in performance. J. Appl. Physiol. 96, 2293–2300 (2004)
K.T. Reilly, M.H. Schieber, Incomplete functional subdivision of the human multitendoned finger muscle flexor digitorum profundus: An electromyographic study. J. Neurophysiol. 90, 2560–2570 (2003)
T. Ohtsuki, Decrease in grip strength induced by simultaneous bilateral exertion with reference to finger strength. Ergonomics 24, 37–48 (1981)
K.T. Reilly, G.R. Hammond, Independence of force production by digits of the human hand. Neurosci. Lett. 290, 53–56 (2000)
L.A. Jones, Manual dexterity, in The Psychobiology of the Hand, ed. by K.J. Connolly (Mac Keith Press, London, 1998), pp. 47–62
H. Kinoshita, S. Kawai, K. Ikuta, Contributions and co-ordination of individual fingers in multiple finger prehension. Ergonomics 38, 1212–1230 (1995)
R. Reilmann, A.M. Gordon, H. Henningsen, Initiation and development of fingertip forces during whole-hand grasping. Exp. Brain Res. 140, 443–452 (2001)
S.L. Kilbreath, S.C. Gandevia, Neural and biomechanical specialization of human thumb muscles revealed by matching weights and grasping objects. J. Physiol. 472, 537–556 (1993)
L.A. Jones, E. Piateski, Contribution of tactile feedback from the hand to the perception of force. Exp. Brain Res. 168, 298–302 (2006)
H.E. Wheat, L.M. Salo, A.W. Goodwin, Human ability to scale and discriminate forces typical of those occurring during grasp and manipulation. J. Neurosci. 24, 3394–3401 (2004)
L.A. Jones, Matching forces: constant errors and differential thresholds. Perception 18, 681–687 (1989)
S.C. Gandevia, S.L. Kilbreath, Accuracy of weight estimation for weights lifted by proximal and distal muscles of the human upper limb. J. Physiol. 423, 299–310 (1990)
X.D. Pang, H.Z. Tan, N.I. Durlach, Manual discrimination of force using active finger motion. Percept. Psychophys. 49, 531–540 (1991)
N. Mai, P. Schreiber, J. Hermsdörfer, Changes in perceived finger force produced by muscular contractions under isometric and anisometric conditions. Exp. Brain Res. 84, 453–460 (1991)
S.L. Kilbreath, S.C. Gandevia, Independent digit control: Failure to partition perceive heaviness of weights lifted by digits of the human hand. J. Physiol. 442, 585–599 (1991)
L.A. Jones, Perceptual constancy and the perceived magnitude of muscle forces. Exp. Brain Res. 151, 197–203 (2003)
E.E. Brodie, H.E. Ross, Sensorimotor mechanisms in weight discrimination. Percept. Psychophys. 36, 477–481 (1984)
S.L. Kilbreath, K. Refshauge, S.C. Gandevia, Differential control of the digits of the human hand: evidence from digital anaesthesia and weight matching. Exp. Brain Res. 117, 507–511 (1997)
J. Galie, L.A. Jones, Thermal cues and the perception of force. Exp. Brain Res. 200, 81–90 (2010)
J.C. Stevens, J.E. Hooper, How skin and object temperature influence touch sensation. Percept. Psychophys. 32, 282–284 (1982)
L.A. Jones, I.W. Hunter, A perceptual analysis of stiffness. Exp. Brain Res. 79, 150–156 (1990)
H.Z. Tan, N.I. Durlach, G.L. Beauregard, M.A. Srinivasan, Manual discrimination of compliance using active pinch grasp: the roles of force and work cues. Percept. Psychophys. 57, 495–510 (1995)
W.M. Bergmann Tiest, A.M.L. Kappers, Cues for haptic perception of compliance. IEEE Trans. Haptics 2, 189–199 (2009)
L.A. Jones, I.W. Hunter, A perceptual analysis of viscosity. Exp. Brain Res. 94, 343–351 (1993)
L. Jones, I. Hunter, S. Lafontaine, Viscosity discrimination: a comparison of an adaptive two-alternative forced-choice and an adjustment procedure. Perception 26, 1571–1578 (1997)
W.M. Bergmann Tiest, A.C.L. Vrijling, A.M.L. Kappers, Haptic perception of viscosity. EuroHaptics 2010, part 1, LNCS 6191, pp. 29–34 (2010)
J.R. Napier, The Human Hand (Carolina Biological Supply, Burlington, 1976)
Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jones, L.A. (2014). The Control and Perception of Finger Forces. In: Balasubramanian, R., Santos, V. (eds) The Human Hand as an Inspiration for Robot Hand Development. Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, vol 95. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03017-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-03017-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-03016-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-03017-3
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)