Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026
09:11
Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace
Published on: August 8, 2019
The cognitive neuroscience of prehension: recent developments
1Department of Psychology, Sage Center for the Study of Mind, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Grafton@psych.ucsb.edu
Experimental Brain Research
|June 10, 2010
Summary
Human prehension, the ability to reach and grasp, is crucial for environmental interaction. This review explores recent findings on the neural basis of precision grasps and their control.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Motor Control
Background:
- Prehension (reaching and grasping) is fundamental to human interaction with the environment.
- It serves as a model system for understanding goal-oriented motor actions and cognitive architecture.
- Conceptualizing the neural substrates of prehension requires integrating diverse experimental evidence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent experimental evidence that refines our understanding of the neural basis of prehension.
- To emphasize how precision grasps are selected and translated into motor commands.
- To explore the integration of visual and tactile information for action control.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent experimental studies on prehension.
- Analysis of research on neural networks involved in perception-action transformations.
- Examination of state estimation frameworks for online motor control.
Main Results:
- Parallel perceptual networks in the parietal cortex and ventral stream are interconnected for goal achievement.
- Precision grasp selection and transformation into motor commands involve complex neural processing.
- Online control of grasping relies on state estimation mechanisms.
Conclusions:
- Understanding prehension requires integrating information from parallel perceptual networks.
- The neural organization of prehension informs the study of more complex goal-directed actions.
- Future research should consider broader cortical architectures for action repertoires.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Cognitivism
Cognitive psychology emerged as a significant field in the mid-20th century. It focused on understanding humans' internal mental processes. This approach emphasizes how people perceive, remember, think, and solve problems—elements critical to human cognition.
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process information is...
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process information is...
01:20Introduction to Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think. It attempts to explain how and why we think the way we do by studying the interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes. Cognitive psychology studies how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing.
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...
This field emerged in the mid-20th century, following a period dominated by behaviorism, which...
02:34Empathy
Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person’s perspective, to feel what he or she feels. An empathetic person makes an emotional connection with others and feels compelled to help (Batson, 1991). Empathy can be expressed in several ways, including cognitive, affective, and motor.
01:37Reason and Intuition
The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the brain can only use...
01:23Cognition and Behavior
Social psychology examines the complex interplay between individual mental processes and social interactions. Historically, the field was divided into two domains: social behavior and social cognition. Researchers focusing on social behavior analyzed actions within social contexts, such as conformity, aggression, or cooperation. Meanwhile, social cognition researchers investigated how people perceive, interpret, and mentally represent their social environments. However, modern perspectives no...
01:21Cognitive Learning
Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...