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.
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Received: 7 December 2001 / Accepted in revised form: 17 April 2002
Correspondence to: F. Danion (e-mail: danion@laps.univ-mrs.fr, Tel.: +33-491-172265, Fax: +33-491-172252)
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Danion, F., Schöner, G., Latash, M. et al. A mode hypothesis for finger interaction during multi-finger force-production tasks. Biol. Cybern. 88, 91–98 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-002-0336-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-002-0336-z