Binocular cues are important in controlling the grasp but not the reach in natural prehension movements

Binocular cues are typically considered to be pre-eminent in the control of reaching and grasping behaviour. However, in the absence of such information prehension movements can still be accurate and reliable. The present study therefore was designed to assess further the contribution of binocular information in the control of human reaching and grasping movements. Participants reached for and picked up objects under binocular and monocular viewing, both in the absence of a visible scene around the target objects (complete darkness with 'self-illuminated' objects and hand), and under normal (fully illuminated) viewing. Analysis of kinematic parameters indicated that the removal of binocular information did not significantly affect the major indices of the transport component, although it did affect the grasp component. In contrast, the kinematic parameters in the unlit conditions revealed that both the transport component and the grasp component of the reach were severely disrupted whether binocular cues were available or not. Our results suggest that binocular information may be more important for the control of grasp formation than for the control of the transport component. Elimination of the surrounding scene and normal visual feedback affects both the transport and the grasp. It is concluded that in normal viewing conditions, reaching and grasping movements are less dependent on binocular information than has previously been thought. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.