Development of Reaching in Human Infants

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Neil Berthier will conduct three years of research to examine how infants develop a capacity for dexterous manual reaching. How experience improves dexterity is of particular interest. Adults possess a remarkable capacity to use their hands to manipulate objects in the world. Almost no other animals exhibit such dexterity. Remarkably, manual dexterity involves the coordination of a vast number of muscles of the trunk, arm, and hand-a control problem that is well beyond what we can do with control artificial devices such as robot arms. Dexterity does not appear fully-formed in adults, however, it requires a protracted period of development that starts soon after birth. The funded project uses mathematical models of neural and muscular systems to describe how one generates arm movements. Behavioral experiments will test the model's predictions against the actual abilities of human infants. Other behavioral experiments will focus on the role of attentive vision for control of reaching. This research will lead to a better understanding of how reaching and manual dexterity develop, and may also shed light on more general processes of human development. Furthermore, the models used are closely related to current schemes for control of reaching by robots. Thus the funded research may suggest novel approaches to the problem of robot control.