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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
Measurement of Spatial Stability in Precision Grip
Published on: June 4, 2020
Grip control in children before, during, and after impulsive loading
Yannick Bleyenheuft1, Jean-Louis Thonnard
1Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, School of Medicine, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Insights
Children aged 6-14 improve grip force control with age. Older children better adapt grip to changing friction, enhancing object manipulation and reducing slips during impulsive loading tasks.
Area of Science:
- Motor Control
- Developmental Psychology
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Object manipulation relies on predictive and reactive motor control.
- Understanding the developmental trajectory of these mechanisms in children is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the development of predictive and reactive mechanisms for managing impulsive loading in children aged 6–14.
- To assess age-related changes in grip force adaptation and control strategy refinement.
Main Methods:
- Children performed an impulsive loading task where object load increased rapidly.
- Two conditions: predictive (child-triggered drop) and reactive (examiner-triggered drop).
- Grip force (GF) and finger friction adaptation were measured.
Main Results:
- Grip control strategy improved significantly with age.
- Younger children struggled to adapt grip force to friction, while older children successfully adapted.
- Both predictive and reactive mechanisms showed age-related modulation.
Conclusions:
- Older children exhibit enhanced predictive abilities and more secure grips in impulsive loading tasks.
- Improved grip force adaptation and integration of sensory information contribute to better performance.
- Developmental improvements in motor control are evident in children's ability to manage dynamic loads.
Abstract:
The manipulation of small objects requires continuous contributions from both predictive and reactive mechanisms. The authors aimed to study the development of predictive and reactive mechanisms used by children from 6 to 14 years of age to manage impulsive loading. The load of a handheld object was increased rapidly by the drop of a weight hung on the object. The drop was triggered either by the child (predictive condition) or by the examiner (reactive condition). Regardless of the condition, the control strategy was refined with age. Younger children were unable to adapt their grip force (GF) to the friction of their fingers, whereas the older children provided GF that was well adapted to their variable coefficient of friction, thereby producing a secure grip. This reflected either an inadequate amount of force or an inability to integrate cutaneous information from the fingers in younger children. Additionally, a modulation with age for both predictive and reactive mechanisms was observed. All together, the better predictive abilities and the more secure grip exhibited by older children allow decreased slipping and improved performance in an impulsive loading task.
