Neural modelling of hand grip formation during reach to grasp

We investigate the spatio-temporal dynamics of hand preshaping during prehension through a biologically plausible neural model. The hand grip formation is generated through neural modulation of basic motor programs that can be rescaled to accommodate different task demands. The model assumes a timing role to propioceptive reafferent information generated by the reaching component of the movement, avoiding the need of a preorganized functional temporal structure for the timing of prehension as some previous models have proposed. Predictions of the model in both Normal and Altered initial hand aperture conditions match key kinematic features present in human data. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.