The Intermanual Transfer of Anticipatory Force Control in Precision Grip Lifting Is Not Influenced by the Perception of Weight

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• Experimental Brain Research

Abstract

When an object is lifted with one hand, the sensorimotor system forms an internal model that predicts the forces required to lift it. A central question is whether this predictive model transfers to the other (untrained) hand, and whether such transfer is mediated by perceptual weight estimates. Using the size-weight illusion — where equally heavy objects of different sizes feel different in weight — we dissociated the felt heaviness of objects from their actual weight. Despite robust IOR effects on perceived weight, anticipatory grip force scaling transferred accurately across hands in a manner that matched actual weight, not perceived weight. These findings demonstrate that intermanual transfer of force control relies on a veridical internal model of object properties rather than perceptual experience.

Citation

Chang, E. C., Flanagan, J. R., & Goodale, M. A. (2008). The intermanual transfer of anticipatory force control in precision grip lifting is not influenced by the perception of weight. Experimental Brain Research, 185, 319–329.

@article{Chang2008,
  author  = {Chang, Erik C. and Flanagan, J. Randall and Goodale, Melvyn A.},
  year    = {2008},
  title   = {The Intermanual Transfer of Anticipatory Force Control in Precision Grip Lifting Is Not Influenced by the Perception of Weight},
  journal = {Experimental Brain Research},
  volume  = {185},
  pages   = {319--329},
  doi     = {10.1007/s00221-007-1156-0}
}