Human Hand Function is a multidisciplinary book that reviews the sensory and motor aspects of normal hand function from both neurophysiological and behavioral perspectives. Lynette Jones and Susan Lederman present hand function as a continuum ranging from activities that are essentially
sensory in nature to those that have a strong motor component. They delineate four categories of function along this sensorimotor continuum--tactile sensing, active haptic sensing, prehension, and non-prehensile skilled movements--that they use as a framework for analyzing and synthesizing the
results from a broad range of studies that have contributed to our understanding of how the normal human hand functions.
The book begins with a historical overview of research on the hand and a discussion of the hand's evolutionary development in terms of anatomical structure. The subsequent chapters review the research in each of the four categories along the continuum, covering topics such as the intensive spatial,
temporal, and thermal sensitivity of the hand, the role of hand movements in recognizing common objects, the control of reaching and grasping movements, and the organization of keyboard skills. Jones and Lederman also examine how sensory and motor function develops in the hand from birth to old age,
and how the nature of the end effector (e.g., a single finger or the whole hand) that is used to interact with the environment influences the types of information obtained and the tasks performed. The book closes with an assessment of how basic research on the hand has contributed to an array of
more applied domains, including communicationsystems for the blind, haptic interfaces used in teleoperation and virtual-environment applications, tests used to assess hand impairments, and haptic exploration in art. Human Hand Function will be a valuable resource for student and professional
researchers in neuroscience, cognitive psychology, engineering, human-technology interaction, and physiology.
Human Hand Function is a multidisciplinary book that reviews the sensory and motor aspects of normal hand function from both neurophysiological and behavioral perspectives. Lynette Jones and Susan Lederman present hand function as a continuum ranging from activities that are essentially
sensory in nature to those that have a strong motor component. They delineate four categories of function along this sensorimotor continuum--tactile sensing, active haptic sensing, prehension, and non-prehensile skilled movements--that they use as a framework for analyzing and synthesizing the
results from a broad range of studies that have contributed to our understanding of how the normal human hand functions.
The book begins with a historical overview of research on the hand and a discussion of the hand's evolutionary development in terms of anatomical structure. The subsequent chapters review the research in each of the four categories along the continuum, covering topics such as the intensive spatial,
temporal, and thermal sensitivity of the hand, the role of hand movements in recognizing common objects, the control of reaching and grasping movements, and the organization of keyboard skills. Jones and Lederman also examine how sensory and motor function develops in the hand from birth to old age,
and how the nature of the end effector (e.g., a single finger or the whole hand) that is used to interact with the environment influences the types of information obtained and the tasks performed. The book closes with an assessment of how basic research on the hand has contributed to an array of
more applied domains, including communicationsystems for the blind, haptic interfaces used in teleoperation and virtual-environment applications, tests used to assess hand impairments, and haptic exploration in art. Human Hand Function will be a valuable resource for student and professional
researchers in neuroscience, cognitive psychology, engineering, human-technology interaction, and physiology.
1: Historical Overview and General Introduction
2: Evolutionary Development and Anatomy of the Hand
3: Sensory Neurophysiology
4: Tactile Sensing
5: Active Haptic Sensing
6: Prehension
7: Non-prehensile Skilled Movements
8: End-effector Constraints
9: Hand Function across the Lifespan
10: Applications
11: Summary, Conclusions, and Future Directions
References
Index
Lynette Jones is a Principal Research Scientist in the Department
of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her research focuses
on a number of areas related to human haptic perception and motor
performance. Much of this work is conducted in the context of the
design of haptic interfaces that human operators use to interact
with computer-generated virtual environments or to control
robotic devices. It entails basic research on the human
proprioceptive and tactile sensory systems that examines how
various feedback systems contribute to perception. Jones' applied
research on haptic interfaces involves
the development of wearable tactile displays that can be used as
navigation aids.
Susan Lederman is Professor of Psychology, with cross-appointments
in the Center for Neuroscience and the School of Computing at
Queens University in Ontario, Canada. She is a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Canada and holds a Queens University Research Chair. Her
research contributions span a wide range of topics pertaining to
sensory, perceptual, cognitive, and sensory-guided motor
processing. Her particular interests include tactile psychophysics,
haptic and multisensory
processing of objects, their properties and spatial locations, and
in addition, the sensory-guided control of grasping and
manipulation. Lederman has also applied the results of her
scientific research to a variety of
real-world problems, including the design of haptic and
multisensory interfaces for virtual environments and teleoperation.
"...a work of impressive scholarship that combines the breadth of
coverage normally found only in edited collections, with the
conceptual integration and uniformity of style that characterize
the best single-authored works...Human Hand Function deserves to be
read and reread by anyone with a serious interest in the hand's
sensory and motor functions and the cognitive processes that
control them."--Mark Hollins, The University of North Carolina
at
Chapel Hill
"...a very well written and extensive compilation of a diverse
literature on the hand as a perceptual organ."--Robert H. LaMotte,
Yale University School of Medicine
"...a comprehensive, thorough, and cohesive work by two noted
authorities on haptic perception and control...while the scope is
broad, the coverage is at the same time deep. The citations, which
I didn't try to count, must run to well over 1000 in
number-themselves worth the price of admission."--Lawrence E.
Marks, John B. Pierce Laboratory
"In Human Hand Function, Jones and Lederman have produced a work of
impressive scholarship that combines the breadth of coverage
normally found only in edited collections, with the conceptual
integration and uniformity of style that characterize the best
single-authored works. It is deeply informed and authoritative, yet
clear and engaging, and does not require technical knowledge on the
part of the reader. The organizational framework is logical and
satisfying. Human Hand Function deserves to be read and reread by
anyone with a serious interest in the hands sensory and motor
functions and the cognitive processes that control them." --Mark
Hollins,
Professor of Psychology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill
"This is a very well written and extensive compilation of a diverse
literature on the hand as a perceptual organ. It is not so much a
critical evaluation or novel synthesis of scientific findings but
rather a unique description, listing and bringing together of the
literature--from tactile sensing and sensory neurophysiology to
haptic processing, interfaces, and methods of evaluating hand
function. In this regard it succeeds admirably and provides a
valuable
resource for both the novice and the specialist. Each will find a
great deal that they will not have realized existed and gain
insight into what remains to be discovered." --Robert H. LaMotte,
Professor
of Anesthesiology and Neurobiology, Yale University School of
Medicine
"At last, a book devoted to the functions of that marvelous
instrument of evolution, the human hand! Human Hand Function is a
comprehensive, thorough, and cohesive work by two noted authorities
on haptic perception and control. The authors consider the
functions of the human hand broadly, from multiple perspectives,
including tactile and haptic perception, sensory physiology, motor
function, cognitive control, and robotics. And while the scope
is
broad, the coverage is at the same time deep. The citations, which
I didnt try to count, must run to well over 1000 in
number--themselves worth the price of admission. Novices and
professionals alike will find much
to learn here. No doubt my copy will quickly show the signs of wear
from repeatedly consulting it." --Lawrence E. Marks, Director of
the John B. Pierce Laboratory and Professor of Epidemiology and
Psychology, Yale University
"...a work of impressive scholarship that combines the breadth of
coverage normally found only in edited collections, with the
conceptual integration and uniformity of style that characterize
the best single-authored works...Human Hand Function deserves to be
read and reread by anyone with a serious interest in the hand's
sensory and motor functions and the cognitive processes that
control them."--Mark Hollins, The University of North Carolina
at
Chapel Hill
"...a very well written and extensive compilation of a diverse
literature on the hand as a perceptual organ."--Robert H. LaMotte,
Yale University School of Medicine
"...a comprehensive, thorough, and cohesive work by two noted
authorities on haptic perception and control...while the scope is
broad, the coverage is at the same time deep. The citations, which
I didn't try to count, must run to well over 1000 in
number-themselves worth the price of admission."--Lawrence E.
Marks, John B. Pierce Laboratory
"In Human Hand Function, Jones and Lederman have produced a work of
impressive scholarship that combines the breadth of coverage
normally found only in edited collections, with the conceptual
integration and uniformity of style that characterize the best
single-authored works. It is deeply informed and authoritative, yet
clear and engaging, and does not require technical knowledge on the
part of the reader. The organizational framework is logical and
satisfying. Human Hand Function deserves to be read and reread by
anyone with a serious interest in the hands sensory and motor
functions and the cognitive processes that control them." --Mark
Hollins,
Professor of Psychology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill
"This is a very well written and extensive compilation of a diverse
literature on the hand as a perceptual organ. It is not so much a
critical evaluation or novel synthesis of scientific findings but
rather a unique description, listing and bringing together of the
literature--from tactile sensing and sensory neurophysiology to
haptic processing, interfaces, and methods of evaluating hand
function. In this regard it succeeds admirably and provides a
valuable
resource for both the novice and the specialist. Each will find a
great deal that they will not have realized existed and gain
insight into what remains to be discovered." --Robert H. LaMotte,
Professor
of Anesthesiology and Neurobiology, Yale University School of
Medicine
"At last, a book devoted to the functions of that marvelous
instrument of evolution, the human hand! Human Hand Function is a
comprehensive, thorough, and cohesive work by two noted authorities
on haptic perception and control. The authors consider the
functions of the human hand broadly, from multiple perspectives,
including tactile and haptic perception, sensory physiology, motor
function, cognitive control, and robotics. And while the scope
is
broad, the coverage is at the same time deep. The citations, which
I didnt try to count, must run to well over 1000 in
number--themselves worth the price of admission. Novices and
professionals alike will find much
to learn here. No doubt my copy will quickly show the signs of wear
from repeatedly consulting it." --Lawrence E. Marks, Director of
the John B. Pierce Laboratory and Professor of Epidemiology and
Psychology, Yale University
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