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- Birznieks, Ingvars, et al.
(author)
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Mechanisms for force adjustments to unpredictable frictional changes at individual digits during two-fingered manipulation.
- 1998
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In: Journal of Neurophysiology. - 0022-3077 .- 1522-1598. ; 80:4, s. 1989-2002
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous studies on adaptation of fingertip forces to local friction at individual digit-object interfaces largely focused on static phases of manipulative tasks in which humans could rely on anticipatory control based on the friction in previous trials. Here we instead analyze mechanisms underlying this adaptation after unpredictable changes in local friction between consecutive trials. With the tips of the right index and middle fingers or the right and left index fingers, subjects restrained a manipulandum whose horizontal contact surfaces were located side by side. At unpredictable moments a tangential force was applied to the contact surfaces in the distal direction at 16 N/s to a plateau at 4 N. The subjects were free to use any combination of normal and tangential forces at the two fingers, but the sum of the tangential forces had to counterbalance the imposed load. The contact surface of the right index finger was fine-grained sandpaper, whereas that of the cooperating finger was changed between sandpaper and the more slippery rayon. The load increase automatically triggered normal force responses at both fingers. When a finger contacted rayon, subjects allowed slips to occur at this finger during the load force increase instead of elevating the normal force. These slips accounted for a partitioning of the load force between the digits that resulted in an adequate adjustment of the normal:tangential force ratios to the local friction at each digit. This mechanism required a fine control of the normal forces. Although the normal force at the more slippery surface had to be comparatively low to allow slippage, the normal forces applied by the nonslipping digit at the same time had to be high enough to prevent loss of the manipulandum. The frictional changes influenced the normal forces applied before the load ramp as well as the size of the triggered normal force responses similarly at both fingers, that is, with rayon at one contact surface the normal forces increased at both fingers. Thus to independently adapt fingertip forces to the local friction the normal forces were controlled at an interdigital level by using sensory information from both engaged digits. Furthermore, subjects used both short- and long-term anticipatory mechanisms in a manner consistent with the notion that the central nervous system (CNS) entertains internal models of relevant object and task properties during manipulation.
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| 2. |
- Burstedt, Magnus K, et al.
(author)
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Control of forces applied by individual fingers engaged in restraint of an active object.
- 1997
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In: Journal of Neurophysiology. - 0022-3077 .- 1522-1598. ; 78:1, s. 117-128
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigated the coordination of fingertip forces in subjects who used the tips of two fingers to restrain an instrumented manipulandum with horizontally oriented grip surfaces. The grip surfaces were subjected to tangential pulling forces in the distal direction in relation to the fingers. The subjects used either the right index and middle fingers (unimanual grasp) or both index fingers (bimanual grasp) to restrain the manipulandum. To change the frictional condition at the digit-object interfaces, either both grip surfaces were covered with sandpaper or one was covered with sandpaper and the other with rayon. The forces applied normally and tangentially to the grip surfaces were measured separately at each plate along with the position of the plates. Subjects could have performed the present task successfully with many different force distributions between the digits. However, they partitioned the load in a manner that reflected the frictional condition at the local digit-object interfaces. When both digits contacted sandpaper, they typically partitioned the load symmetrically, but when one digit made contact with rayon and the other with sandpaper, the digit contacting the less slippery material (sandpaper) took up a larger part of the load. The normal forces were also influenced by the frictional condition, but they reflected the average friction at the two contact sites rather than the local friction. That is, when friction was low at one of the digit-object interfaces, only the applied normal forces increased at both digits. Thus sensory information related to the local frictional condition at the respective digit-object interfaces controlled the normal force at both digits. The normal:tangential force ratio at each digit appeared to be a controlled variable. It was adjusted independently at each digit to the minimum ratio required to prevent frictional slippage, keeping an adequate safety margin against slippage. This was accomplished by the scaling of the normal forces to the average friction and by partitioning of the load according to frictional differences between the digit-object interfaces. In conclusion, by adjusting the normal:tangential force ratios to the local frictional condition, subjects avoided excessive normal forces at the individual digit-object interfaces, and by partitioning the load according the frictional difference, subjects avoided high normal forces. Thus the local frictional condition at the separate digit-object interfaces is one factor that can strongly influence the distribution of forces across digits engaged in a manipulative act.
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