Chapter 2. Prehension

Chapter 7 - Opposition Space Phases 301
hand configuration (i.e., driving the location and orientation of the
grasping surface patches, with respect to the plane of the palm), yet
the magnitude of forces is not mapped on until after contact has been
made. During this time, there is a complex interplay probably of the
most sophisticated type between kinesthetic, tactile and motor
processes, and sensorimotor integration. The sensorimotor integration
process relates to findings in peripheral receptor physiology (at the
joint, muscle and skin receptor level), motor physiology (in terms of
alpha and gamma motorneuron populations and spinal circuitry), and
neurophysiology (reaching circuitry in the cervical spinal cord that
parallels locomotor circuitry), and has important implications for the
design of artificial manipulators.