Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-76c49bb84f-bg8zk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-05T09:54:57.504Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

17 - Development of grasping and object manipulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2009

By
Brigitte Vollmer  and
Hans Forssberg
Edited by
Dennis A. Nowak  and
Joachim Hermsdörfer
Dennis A. Nowak
Affiliation:
Klinik Kipfenberg, Kipfenberg, Germany
Joachim Hermsdörfer
Affiliation:
Technical University of Munich
Get access

Summary

Summary

The development of skilled hand movements such as grasping and object manipulation is of fundamental importance to the ability to perform everyday life activities. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview on development of grasping and object manipulation. The first part describes developmental characteristics of prehension, i.e. reaching and grasping. The second part deals with the development of independent finger movements, which is an important prerequisite for both grip formation and object manipulation. In the third part, aspects of manipulation of unstable and stable objects are discussed. This includes discussion of the development of sensory control mechanisms, i.e. adaptation to friction and weight of the manipulated object. Finally, the concept of neuronal group selection, a concept that implies that development is the result of complex interaction between genes and environment, is described.

Introduction

Prehension (i.e. reaching and grasping) and manipulation of objects are motor skills that are fundamentally important for exploration and interaction with the environment. Although human infants can grasp from an early age, it takes several years before children are able to perform these skills in a mature pattern. The development of these skilled hand movements and underlying neural mechanisms is the focus of this chapter.

Prehension involves two main components, i.e. reaching and grasping. First, the hand has to be moved to the location of the object. Second, the grip must be adapted to size, shape, orientation and the intended use of the object (see also Chapters 1 and 12).

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Sensorimotor Control of Grasping
Physiology and Pathophysiology
 , pp. 235 - 249
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bernstein, N. (1967). The Coordination and Regulation of Movements. Oxford, UK: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Edin, B. B., Westling, G. & Johansson, R. S. (1997). Independent control of human finger tip forces at individual digits during precision lifting. J Physiol, 450, 547–564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eliasson, A. C., Forssberg, H., Ikuta, K.et al. (1995). Development of human precision grip. V. Anticipatory and triggered grip actions during sudden loading. Exp Brain Res, 106, 425–433.Google ScholarPubMed
Evans, A. L. (1997). Development and function of cutaneomuscular reflexes and their pathophysiology in cerebral palsy. In Connolly, K. J. & Forssberg, H. (Eds.), Neurophysiology and Neuropsychology of Motor Development (pp. 145–161). London: MacKeith Press.Google Scholar
Fetters, L. & Todd, J. (1987). Quantitative assessment of infant reaching movements. J Motor Behav, 19, 147–166.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forssberg, H. (1999). Neural control of human motor development. Curr Opin Neurobiol, 9, 676–682.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forssberg, H., Eliasson, A. C., Kinoshita, H., Johansson, R. S. & Westling, G. (1991). Development of human precision grip I: Basic coordination of force. Exp Brain Res, 85, 451–457.Google Scholar
Forssberg, H., Kinoshita, H., Eliasson, A. C.et al. (1992). Development of human precision grip II. Anticipatory control of isometric forces targeted for object's weight. Exp Brain Res, 90, 393–398.Google ScholarPubMed
Forssberg, H., Eliasson, A. C., Kinoshita, H., Johansson, R. S. & Westling, G. (1995). Development of human precision grip IV: Tactile adaptation of isometric finger forces to the frictional condition. Exp Brain Res, 104, 323–330.Google ScholarPubMed
Gordon, A. M., Forssberg, H., Johansson, R. S. & Westling, G. (1991a). The integration of haptically acquired size information in the programming of precision grip. Exp Brain Res, 83, 483–488.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gordon, A. M., Forssberg, H., Johansson, R. S. & Westling, G. (1991b). Visual size cues in the programming of manipulative forces during precision grip. Exp Brain Res 83, 477–482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gordon, A. M., Forssberg, H., Johansson, R. S., Eliasson, A. C. & Westling, G. (1992). Development of human precision grip. III. Integration of visual size cues during the programming of isometric forces. Exp Brain Res, 90, 399–403.Google ScholarPubMed
Jakobson, L. S. & Goodale, M. A. (1991). Factors affecting higher-order movement planning: a kinematic analysis of human prehension. Exp Brain Res, 86, 199–208.Google ScholarPubMed
Jeannerod, M. (1984). The timing of natural prehension movements. J Motor Behav, 16, 235–254.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jeannerod, M. (1991). The interaction of visual and proprioceptive cues in controlling reaching movements. In Humphrey, D. R. & Freund, H. J. (Eds.), Motor control: Concepts and Issues (pp. 277–291). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Google Scholar
Jeannerod, M., Paulignan, Y. & Weiss, P. (1998). Grasping an object: one movement, several components. Novartis Foundation Symposium, 218: 5–16; discussion pp. 16–20.Google ScholarPubMed
Jenner, J. R. & Stephens, J. A. (1979). Evidence for a transcortical cutaneous reflex response in man. J Physiol, 293, 39P–40P.Google ScholarPubMed
Jenner, J. R. & Stephens, J. A. (1982). Cutaneous reflex responses and their central nervous pathways studied in man. J Physiol, 333, 405–419.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johansson, R. S. & Westling, G. (1984). Roles of glabrous skin receptors and sensorimotor memory in automatic control of precision grip when lifting rougher or more slippery objects. Exp Brain Res, 56, 550–564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johansson, R. S. & Westling, G. (1988). Coordinated isometric muscle commands adequately and erroneously programmed for the weight during lifting task with precision grip. Exp Brain Res, 71, 59–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Konczak, J. & Dichgans, J. (1997). The development toward stereotypic arm kinematics during reaching in the first 3 years of life. Exp Brain Res, 117, 346–354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Konczak, J., Borutta, M., Topka, H. & Dichgans, J. (1995). The development of goal-directed reaching in infants: hand trajectory formation and joint torque control. Exp Brain Res, 106, 156–168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuhtz-Buschbeck, J. P., Stolze, H., Jöhnk, K., Boczed-Funcke, A. & Ilert, M. (1998). Development of prehension movements in children: a kinematic study. Exp Brain Res, 122, 424–432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, D. G. & Kuypers, H. G. (1968a). The functional organization of the motor system in the monkey. I. The effects of bilateral pyramidal lesions. Brain, 91, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, D. G. & Kuypers, H. G. (1968b). The functional organization of the motor system in the monkey. II. The effects of lesions of the descending brain-stem pathways. Brain, 91, 15–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olivier, I., Hay, L., Bard, C. & Fleury, M. (2007). Age-related differences in the reaching and grasping coordination in children: unimanual and bimanual tasks. Exp Brain Res, 179, 17–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paillard, J. (1987). Cognitive versus sensorimotor encoding of spatial information. In Ellen, P. & Thinus-Blanc, C. (Eds.), Cognitive Processes and Spatial Orientation in Animal and Man (pp. 43–77). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schenker, M., Wiberg, M., Kay, S. P. & Johansson, R. S. (2007). Precision grip function after free toe transfer in children with hypoplastic digits. J Plastic Reconstr Aesth Surg, 60, 13–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schieber, M. H. (1990). How might the motor cortex individuate movements?Trends Neurosci, 13, 440–445.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schneiberg, S., Svestrup, H., McFadyen, B., McKinley, P. & Levin, M. (2002). The development of coordination for reach-to grasp movements in children. Exp Brain Res, 146, 142–156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shim, K. S., Oliveira, M. A., Hsu, J.et al. (2007). Hand digit control in children: age-related changes in hand digit force interactions during maximum flexion and extension force production tasks. Exp Brain Res, 176, 374–386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smyth, M. M., Katamba, J. & Peacock, K. A. (2004). Development of prehension between 5 and 10 years of age: distance scaling, grip aperture, and sight of hand. J Motor Behav, 36, 91–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sporns, O. & Edelman, G. M. (1993). Solving Bernstein's problem: a proposal for the development of coordinated movement by selection. Child Dev, 64, 960–981.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Touwen, B. C. (1978). Variability and stereotypy in normal and deviant development. In Touwen, B. C. (Ed.), Neurological Development in Infancy (pp. 99–110). London: SIMP and Heinemann Medical Books.Google Scholar
Valero-Cuevas, F. J., Smaby, N., Venkadesan, M., Peterson, M. & Wright, T. (2003). The strength-dexterity test as a measure of dynamic pinch performance. J Biomech, 36, 265–270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hofsten, C. (1982). Eye-hand coordination in the newborn. Dev Psychol, 18, 450–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofsten, C. (1991). Structuring of early reaching movements: a longitudinal study. J Motor Behav, 23, 280–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofsten, C. & Rönnqvist, L. (1988). Preparation for grasping an object: a developmental study. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform, 14, 610–621.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westling, G. & Johannsson, R. S. (1984). Factors influencing the force control during precision grip. Exp Brain Res, 53, 277–284.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wing, A. M. (1996). Anticipatory control of grip force in rapid arm movement. In Wing, A. M., Haggard, P. & Flanagan, J. R. (Eds.), Hand and Brain: The Neurophysiology and Psychology of Hand Movements (pp. 301–324). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×