title: Toward a physiological understanding of human dexterity.
abstract: Dexterity, defined as the skillful manipulation of the hands, is now amenable to physiological investigation. Two topics are discussed here: grasping (i.e., hand-object coupling) and bimanual coordination. Dexterity depends on powerful, distributed neural networks and is particularly vulnerable to brain lesions. A knowledge of physiological mechanisms is needed to deal with these neurological problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Motor Systems, University of Berne, CH-3010 Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiesendanger
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Serrien
mesh_terms: D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D018737:Hand Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*