Hand and Brain: The Neurophysiology and Psychology of Hand Movements - Tapa blanda

Used for gestures of communication, environmental exploration, and the grasping and manipulating of objects, the hand has a vital role in our lives. The hand's anatomical structure and neural control are among the most complex and detailed of human motor systems. Hand and Brain is a comprehensive overview of the hand's sensorimotor control. It discusses mediating variables in perception and prehension, the coordination of muscles with the central nervous system, the nature of movement control and hand positioning, hand-arm coordination in reaching and grasping, and the sensory function of the hand. In the last decade the rapid growth of neuroscience has been paralleled by a surge of interest in hand function. This reflects the fact that many of the fundamental issues facing neuroscientists today-including the problem of relating physiology to behavior-are central to the study of sensorimotor control of the hand. This book takes a broad interdisciplinary perspective on the control of hand movements that includes neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, psychology and neuropsychology, and biomechanics. The authors, who have all made significant scientific contributions in their own right, have sought to introduce their chosen topics in a manner that the undergraduate reader will be able to follow without sacrificing detailed and up-to-date coverage ofthe major developments.

Patrick Haggard is Lecturer in Psychobiology in the Department of Psychology, University College, London. He obtained his Ph.D. at the Medical Research Council Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge, for studies of the coordination of human reaching and grasping movements. He then worked in the Physiology Department of Oxford University, studying the neural mechanisms underlying voluntary movement in normal subjects and neurological patients. His current research centers on neurophysiological and behavioral measurement of the information-processing involved in human arm movements.