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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace

Published on: August 8, 2019

Neural coordination during reach-to-grasp.

Mukta Vaidya¹, Konrad Kording², Maryam Saleh¹

¹Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois;

Journal of Neurophysiology

|July 31, 2015

Summary

Researchers studied how motor cortical neurons coordinate hand shaping and movement during reaching and grasping. They found neural trajectories temporally compensate for each other, suggesting bidirectional interactions are key to this motor control.

Keywords:

motor cortex neural coordination neural dynamics neural trajectories reach-to-grasp

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Frame-by-Frame Video Analysis of Idiosyncratic Reach-to-Grasp Movements in Humans

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Published on: January 15, 2018

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Human and primate motor control involves complex coordination between hand shaping (prehension) and arm movement (reaching).
The precise role of motor cortical neuronal ensembles in integrating reach and grasp components remains an active area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the temporal dynamics and interactions between reach- and grasp-related neuronal ensembles in the motor cortex.
To understand how neural activity coordinates the preshaping of the hand with its trajectory during object manipulation.

Main Methods:

Monkeys were trained to reach and grasp various objects in different locations.
Neuronal ensemble activity was recorded and analyzed using low-dimensional state space trajectories.
Temporal coupling and Granger causality were employed to assess interactions between reach and grasp neural populations.

Main Results:

Evidence of temporal compensation was observed, where one neural trajectory (reach or grasp) adjusted its timing to synchronize with the other, reducing asynchrony.
Bidirectional interactions between reach and grasp neural trajectories were identified, exceeding those explained by joint kinematics.
Grasp-to-reach neural interactions were found to be consistently stronger than reach-to-grasp interactions.

Conclusions:

The findings provide a novel framework for understanding cortical coordination dynamics during goal-directed movements.
Temporal compensation and bidirectional interactions between neural populations are crucial for seamless reach-to-grasp actions.
This study sheds light on the functional organization of the motor cortex in sensorimotor integration.