title: A mode hypothesis for finger interaction during multi-finger force-production tasks.
abstract: Finger forces are known to change involuntarily during multi-finger force-production tasks, even when a finger's involvement in a task is not consciously changed (the enslaving effect). Furthermore, during maximal force-production (MVC) tests, the force produced by a given finger in a multi-finger task is smaller than the force generated by this finger in its single-finger MVC test (the force-deficit effect). A set of hypothetical control variables - modes - is introduced. Modes can be estimated based on individual finger forces during single-finger MVC tests. We show that a simple formal model based on modes with only one free parameter accounts for finger forces during a variety of multi-finger MVC tests. The free parameter accounts for the force-deficit effect, and its value depends only on the number of explicitly involved fingers. This approach offers a simple framework for the analysis of finger interaction during multi-finger actions.
authors.affiliation: UMR 6559 Mouvement et Perception, Faculté des Sciences du Sport, Université de la Méditerranée, CNRS, 163, Avenue de Luminy, CP 910, 13288 Marseille cedex 9, France. danion@laps.univ-mrs.fr
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Danion
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schöner
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Latash
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Scholz
authors.forename: Vladimir M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Zatsiorsky
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology