As modern humans, a vast number of our daily activities (e.g., cooking and eating, writing, brushing teeth, etc.) involve the skillful use of manual tools and utensils. Thus, the consequences of brain injuries or diseases that compromise these behaviors are often devastating. Yet, strikingly little is known about the neural mechanisms responsible for these abilities. The overarching goal of this project is to advance our understanding of these neural mechanisms and the roles they play in activities of daily living (ADLs). Rapid, event-related, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to achieve three specific aims that arise from a neurally-plausible model of tool use in human and non-human primates: 1) determine the relationship between neural representations involved in manual prehension versus grasping with a mechanical """"""""hand,"""""""" and specify how these change with experience. 2) Determine the neural substrates involved in grasping objects on the basis of their 3-D structural properties versus knowledge of their functions and uses. 3) Determine the cerebral organization of everyday uni- and bi-manual tool use skills and their relationship to well-established skills that do not involve tools. These studies address a fundamental aspect of everyday human behavior, tool use, that has been all but overlooked in the mainstream psychological and neuroscience literatures. Our techniques distinguish effectively between processes involved in action organization (planning) versus execution. Emphasis is placed on identifying reliable individual differences in neural representations as well as common features in group data. Left-handed as well as right-handed participants are included. Left-handers are often neglected in behavioral and functional imaging research, yet the way that they acquire and represent manual skills may differ from right-handers in ways that are of both theoretical and clinical importance. Results of this work will have relevance to understanding and improving the rehabilitation of injuries/diseases that compromise (ADLs) involving tools and other manipulable objects, including: Cerebral Vascular Accidents (CVAs), spinal cord injuries, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Parkinson's Disease (PD). Results are also relevant to the development of cognitive neuroprostheses and other assistive technologies.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS053962-05
Application #
7916516
Study Section
Cognitive Neuroscience Study Section (COG)
Program Officer
Chen, Daofen
Project Start
2006-09-01
Project End
2011-08-31
Budget Start
2010-09-01
Budget End
2011-08-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$146,090
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Oregon
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
948117312
City
Eugene
State
OR
Country
United States
Zip Code
97403
Randerath, Jennifer; Valyear, Kenneth F; Philip, Benjamin A et al. (2017) Contributions of the parietal cortex to increased efficiency of planning-based action selection. Neuropsychologia 105:135-143
Philip, Benjamin A; Frey, Scott H (2016) Increased functional connectivity between cortical hand areas and praxis network associated with training-related improvements in non-dominant hand precision drawing. Neuropsychologia 87:157-68
Króliczak, Gregory; Piper, Brian J; Frey, Scott H (2016) Specialization of the left supramarginal gyrus for hand-independent praxis representation is not related to hand dominance. Neuropsychologia 93:501-512
Bidu?a, Szymon P; Króliczak, Gregory (2015) Structural asymmetry of the insula is linked to the lateralization of gesture and language. Eur J Neurosci 41:1438-47
Valyear, Kenneth F; Frey, Scott H (2015) Human posterior parietal cortex mediates hand-specific planning. Neuroimage 114:226-38
Frey, Scott H; Hansen, Marc; Marchal, Noah (2015) Grasping with the Press of a Button: Grasp-selective Responses in the Human Anterior Intraparietal Sulcus Depend on Nonarbitrary Causal Relationships between Hand Movements and End-effector Actions. J Cogn Neurosci 27:1146-60
Macuga, Kristen L; Frey, Scott H (2014) Differential contributions of the superior and inferior parietal cortex to feedback versus feedforward control of tools. Neuroimage 92:36-45
Valyear, Kenneth F; Frey, Scott H (2014) Hand selection for object grasping is influenced by recent motor history. Psychon Bull Rev 21:566-73
Macuga, Kristen L; Papailiou, Athan P (2012) Motor imagery of tool use: relationship to actual use and adherence to Fitts’ law across tasks. Exp Brain Res 218:169-79
Martin, Kimberley; van Donkelaar, Paul (2012) Expectations can modulate the frequency and timing of multiple saccades: a TMS study. Exp Brain Res 221:51-8

Showing the most recent 10 out of 20 publications