A mode hypothesis for finger interaction during multi-finger force-production tasks

Frédéric Danion, Gregor Schöner, Mark L. Latash, Sheng Li, John P. Scholz, Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

139 Scopus citations

Abstract

Finger forces are known to change involuntarily during multi-finger force-production tasks, even when a finger's involvement in a task is not consciously changed (the enslaving effect). Furthermore, during maximal force-production (MVC) tests, the force produced by a given finger in a multi-finger task is smaller than the force generated by this finger in its single-finger MVC test (the force-deficit effect). A set of hypothetical control variables - modes - is introduced. Modes can be estimated based on individual finger forces during single-finger MVC tests. We show that a simple formal model based on modes with only one free parameter accounts for finger forces during a variety of multi-finger MVC tests. The free parameter accounts for the force-deficit effect, and its value depends only on the number of explicitly involved fingers. This approach offers a simple framework for the analysis of finger interaction during multi-finger actions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)91-98
Number of pages8
JournalBiological Cybernetics
Volume88
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2003

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biotechnology
  • General Computer Science

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