PubMed Health⌕ Search

PubMed · 11976768

Does a complex model help to understand grasping?

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated a peculiar effect of initial aperture on the grip formation in reach-to-grasp movements. We compare these findings with the predictions of two models for prehension. The first is a very simple model that only describes the movements of the end-effectors. The second model is rather complex and takes postural constraints into account. Both models can account for many aspects of human grasping when the movement starts with the digits in contact. We compare the models' performance with published data on other initial configurations. Both models predict an effect of initial aperture that was not present in the data. The model that considers postural constraints does not perform better than the simple model. We conclude that such constraints are not responsible for the main characteristics of the reach-to-grasp movement.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Jeroen B J Smeets, Eli Brenner. 2002-03-02. Does a complex model help to understand grasping?. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-002-1056-2

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

The inversion In(2L)t impacts complex, environmentally sensitive behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster.

Genetic variation in behavioral traits allows organisms to respond and adapt to environmental challenges. Genetic variation in behavior is often affected by many genes and thus has a complex genetic basis. Inversions, the reorientation of genes along the chromosome, tightly link genetic variants together because they suppress recombination. Therefore, inversions are believed to have a major impact on phenotypic variation because they combine the effects of multiple genes, which can pleiotropically alter multiple aspects of behavior. This study investigates how the inversion In(2L)t, found in Drosophila melanogaster populations around the world, impacts different aspects of behavior in an environment-sensitive manner. We test the activity, foraging, and startle-induced behavior of flies with different In(2L)t genotypes across sex and temperatures. We observe that Drosophila homozygous for In(2L)t sleep less frequently, spend more time away from a food source, and have a longer duration of startle response. Additionally, the impacts of In(2L)t on aspects of behavior can be sex-specific and are largely consistent across temperatures. Taken together, our research demonstrates that inversions can regulate aspects of behavior, and suggests hypotheses explaining the distribution of In(2L)t across space and time.

Behavior↗

Genesis of suicide terrorism.

Contemporary suicide terrorists from the Middle East are publicly deemed crazed cowards bent on senseless destruction who thrive in poverty and ignorance. Recent research indicates they have no appreciable psychopathology and are as educated and economically well-off as surrounding populations. A first line of defense is to get the communities from which suicide attackers stem to stop the attacks by learning how to minimize the receptivity of mostly ordinary people to recruiting organizations.

Behavior↗

B. F. Skinner's technology of behavior in American life: from consumer culture to counterculture.

From the 1940s through the 1970s, articles in popular magazines and newspapers presented B. F. Skinner in a wide array of guises, from educational revolutionary and utopian to totalitarian and fascist. Understanding these diverse, and often contradictory, portrayals requires a consideration of the social and political discourses in which they were embedded. In this paper, I suggest that reports of Skinner's work were influenced by a number of cultural categories, from the better living campaign of the 1950s, to the counterculture crusade of the late 1960s. Through this examination, a multifaceted rendering of Skinner's public image that takes into account the nature of his work, the context in which it was produced, and the culture in which it was received is revealed. I propose that the received view of Skinner as maligned behaviorist actually obscures the complexity of his relationship with psychology's public throughout this period.

Behavior↗