Visual and Tactile Guidance of Dexterous Manipulation Tasks: An fMRI Study

Models of motor guidance that dynamically adjust to the availability and quality of sensory information are based on the observation that dexterous tasks are routinely performed using various combinations of visual and tactile inputs. However, a dynamic neural system that acquires and processes relevant visual and tactile information remains relatively uncharacterized in humans. In this study, whole-brain functional magnetic resonance images were acquired during a dexterous manipulation task, compression of the end caps of a slender spring prone to buckling, to investigate the neural systems associated with motor guidance under four visual and tactile guidance conditions: (1) eyes closed (no visual input), smooth end caps, (2) eyes closed, rough end caps, (3) eyes open and watching hand, smooth end caps, and (4) eyes open and watching hand, rough end caps. Performance of the dexterous task remained constant in all conditions. Variations in the two levels of visual input resulted in modulation of activity in the middle and inferior occipital gyrii and inferior parietal lobule, and variation in the two levels of tactile input during the task resulted in modulation of activity in the precentral (primary motor) gyrus. Although significantly active in all conditions, cingulate gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and cerebellum activities were not modulated by levels of either visual or somatosensory input, and no interaction effects were observed. Together, these data indicate that a fine-tuned motor task guided by varying visual and tactile information engages a distributed and integrated neural complex consisting of control and executive functions and regions that process dynamic sensory information related to guidance functions.