IMT Institutional Repository: No conditions. Results ordered -Date Deposited. 2024-03-29T09:06:57ZEPrintshttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/images/logowhite.pnghttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/2016-05-11T11:02:48Z2016-09-13T09:42:41Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3485This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/34852016-05-11T11:02:48ZHuman and Robot Hands: Sensorimotor Synergies to Bridge the Gap Between Neuroscience and RoboticsThe control of the many degrees of freedom of the hand through functional modules (hand synergies) has been proposed as a potentially useful model to describe how the hand can maintain postures while being able to rapidly change its configuration to accomplish a wide range of tasks. However, whether and to what extent synergies are actually encoded in motor cortical areas is still debated. A direct encoding of hand synergies is suggested by electrophysiological studies in nonhuman primates, but the evidence in humans resulted, so far, partial and indirect. In this chapter, we review the organization of the brain network that controls hand posture in humans and present preliminary results of a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) on the encoding of synergies at a cortical level to control hand posture in humans.Andrea LeoGiacomo HandjarasHamal MarinoMatteo BianchiPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.it2016-03-01T10:32:04Z2016-09-12T08:28:51Zhttp://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/3170This item is in the repository with the URL: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/31702016-03-01T10:32:04ZA synergy-based hand control is encoded in human motor cortical areasHow the human brain controls hand movements to carry out different tasks is still debated. The concept of synergy has been proposed to indicate functional modules that may simplify the control of hand postures by simultaneously recruiting sets of muscles and joints. However, whether and to what extent synergic hand postures are encoded as such at a cortical level remains unknown. Here, we combined kinematic, electromyography, and brain activity measures obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging while subjects performed a variety of movements towards virtual objects. Hand postural information, encoded through kinematic synergies, were represented in cortical areas devoted to hand motor control and successfully discriminated individual grasping movements, significantly outperforming alternative somatotopic or muscle-based models. Importantly, hand postural synergies were predicted by neural activation patterns within primary motor cortex. These findings support a novel cortical organization for hand movement control and open potential applications for brain-computer interfaces and neuroprostheses.Andrea LeoGiacomo HandjarasMatteo BianchiHamal MarinoMarco GabicciniAndrea GuidiEnzo Pasquale ScilingoPietro Pietrinipietro.pietrini@imtlucca.itAntonio BicchiMarco SantelloEmiliano Ricciardiemiliano.ricciardi@imtlucca.it