The macaque lateral grasping network: A neural substrate for generating purposeful hand actions

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Primate Cognition
• Motor Control

Background:

• Skilled hand actions in primates depend on sensorimotor transformations.
• These transformations involve circuits linking inferior parietal and ventral premotor areas.
• Object features trigger hand motor programs via sensory coding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural basis of skilled hand actions in primates.
• To identify the large-scale cortical network involved in grasping.
• To understand the evolution of motor and cognitive capacities.

Main Methods:

• Connectional studies in macaques.
• Analysis of neural circuits linking parietal and premotor areas.
• Comparison with human neuroimaging studies.

Main Results:

• Identified a "lateral grasping network" in macaques, including temporal and prefrontal sectors.
• This network interfaces perceptual, cognitive, and sensorimotor processes for object-based grasping.
• Evidence suggests a homologous network in humans, retained and adapted for human-specific capacities.

Conclusions:

• The lateral grasping network provides a substrate for integrating diverse information for hand control.
• Neural mechanisms for grasping have been conserved and elaborated during primate evolution.
• This network underpins both basic hand control and advanced human cognitive-motor functions.