Adaptation of the gain of the corrective lifting response in object manipulation transfers across the hand

Abstract

Our ability to skillfully manipulate objects is supported by rapid corrective responses that are initiated when we experience perturbations that interfere with movement goals. For example, the corrective lifting response is triggered when an object is heavier than expected and fails to lift off the surface. In this situation, the absence of expected sensory feedback signalling lift off initiates, within ~ 90 ms, an increase in lifting force. Importantly, when people repeatedly lift an object that, on occasional catch trials, is heavier than expected, the gain of the corrective response, defined as the rate of force increase, adapts to the ‘catch’ weight. In the present study, we investigated whether this response adaption transfers intermanually. In the training phase, participants used either their left or right hand (counterbalanced) to repeatedly lift a 3 N object that unexpectedly increased to 9 N on catch trials, leading to an increase in the gain of the lifting response across catch trials. Participants then lifted the object with their other hand. On the first catch trial, the gain remained elevated and thus transferred across the hands. This finding suggests that the history of lifts performed by one hand updates the corrective responses for both hands.