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Unexpected complexity of everyday manual behaviors

Author

Listed:
  • Yuke Yan

    (University of Chicago)

  • James M. Goodman

    (University of Chicago)

  • Dalton D. Moore

    (University of Chicago)

  • Sara A. Solla

    (Northwestern University)

  • Sliman J. Bensmaia

    (University of Chicago
    University of Chicago
    University of Chicago)

Abstract

How does the brain control an effector as complex and versatile as the hand? One possibility is that neural control is simplified by limiting the space of hand movements. Indeed, hand kinematics can be largely described within 8 to 10 dimensions. This oft replicated finding has been construed as evidence that hand postures are confined to this subspace. A prediction from this hypothesis is that dimensions outside of this subspace reflect noise. To address this question, we track the hand of human participants as they perform two tasks—grasping and signing in American Sign Language. We apply multiple dimension reduction techniques and replicate the finding that most postural variance falls within a reduced subspace. However, we show that dimensions outside of this subspace are highly structured and task dependent, suggesting they too are under volitional control. We propose that hand control occupies a higher dimensional space than previously considered.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuke Yan & James M. Goodman & Dalton D. Moore & Sara A. Solla & Sliman J. Bensmaia, 2020. "Unexpected complexity of everyday manual behaviors," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-17404-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17404-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carsen Stringer & Marius Pachitariu & Nicholas Steinmetz & Matteo Carandini & Kenneth D. Harris, 2019. "High-dimensional geometry of population responses in visual cortex," Nature, Nature, vol. 571(7765), pages 361-365, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Félix Bigand & Elise Prigent & Bastien Berret & Annelies Braffort, 2021. "Decomposing spontaneous sign language into elementary movements: A principal component analysis-based approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(10), pages 1-18, October.
    2. Ege Altan & Sara A Solla & Lee E Miller & Eric J Perreault, 2021. "Estimating the dimensionality of the manifold underlying multi-electrode neural recordings," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-23, November.
    3. Jeffrey D. Laurence-Chasen & Callum F. Ross & Fritzie I. Arce-McShane & Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos, 2023. "Robust cortical encoding of 3D tongue shape during feeding in macaques," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.

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