Motor and perceptual selection during grasping

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Heiner Deubel, since 5/2013
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2012 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 228338709

Previous research has demonstrated that contact points during multidigit grasping show low within- and between-subject variability, resulting in object specific “grasp patterns”. In addition to this motor selection, we have investigated spatial attention as an indicator for perceptual selection processes that occur during grasping of cylindrical objects. Results showed that attention is not globally increased for to-be-grasped objects. Instead, attention is attenuated only at grasp-relevant locations while grasp-irrelevant locations are unattended. Therefore, attention is divided during the planning of grasping movements and can be used in empirical studies in order to make movement plans visible.The aim of the envisaged object is to investigate the motor and perceptual selection (as well as their interaction) and to develop a biologically inspired neuro-computational model of multidigit grasping. Motor selection is investigated in detail in the first part of the project. In particular, we determine how contact points are chosen in dependence of object geometry and object orientation, of the number of fingers used in the actual grasp, and of contextual effects (obstacles). By measuring individual finger forces we also aim at determining the functional contribution of each finger. In the second part of the project, we investigate the visual-spatial attention during the planning and execution of the grasping movement. This allows us to unravel the hidden selective processes in the temporal domain. The results from the first two parts of the project are then used in order to formulate a model of multidigit grasping. The relevance of such a model is not restricted to the understanding of human grasping. Rather, it can be used for grasp planning and execution in robots.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Dr. René Gilster, until 5/2013