%0 Journal Article %J eLIFE %D 2016 %T A synergy-based hand control is encoded in human motor cortical areas %A A. Leo %A G. Handjaras %A M. Bianchi %A H. Marino %A M Gabiccini %A Guidi, A. %A E. P. Scilingo %A P. Pietrini %A A. Bicchi %A M. Santello %A E. Ricciardi %X

How the human brain controls hand movements to carry out different tasks is still debated. The concept of synergy has been proposed to indicate functional modules that may simplify the control of hand postures by simultaneously recruiting sets of muscles and joints. However, whether and to what extent synergic hand postures are encoded as such at a cortical level remains unknown. Here, we combined kinematic, electromyography, and brain activity measures obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging while subjects performed a variety of movements towards virtual objects. Hand postural information, encoded through kinematic synergies, were represented in cortical areas devoted to hand motor control and successfully discriminated individual grasping movements, significantly outperforming alternative somatotopic or muscle-based models. Importantly, hand postural synergies were predicted by neural activation patterns within primary motor cortex. These findings support a novel cortical organization for hand movement control and open potential applications for brain-computer interfaces and neuroprostheses.

%B eLIFE %G eng %U http://elifesciences.org/content/5/e13420v2 %R http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13420 %0 Conference Paper %B 19th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping %D 2013 %T Neural correlates of haptic pop-out of shape discrimination in the human brain %A A. Leo %A M. Feurra %A S. Rossi %A A. Kappers %A A. Bicchi %A D Prattichizzo %A Cristea, I. %A David, D. %A P. Pietrini %A E. Ricciardi %B 19th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping %C Seattle, USA, June2013 %0 Book Section %B Immersive Multimodal Interactive Presence %D 2012 %T Immersive Multimodal Interactive Presence %A N. Vanello %A V. Hartwig %A E. P. Scilingo %A D. Bonino %A E. Ricciardi %A A. Tognetti %A P. Pietrini %A D. De Rossi %A L. Landini %A A. Bicchi %B Immersive Multimodal Interactive Presence %I SPRINGER-VERLAG %C LONDON – GBR %P 215–228 %@ 9781447127536 %G eng %U http://dx.medra.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2754-3_12 %& FMRI Compatible Sensing Glove for Hand Gesture Monitoring %R 10.1007/978-1-4471-2754-3_12 %0 Conference Paper %B 17-th annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping %D 2011 %T Causality as a unifying approach between activation and connectivity analysis of fMRI data %A N. Dubbini %A E. Ricciardi %A A. Gaglianese %A S. Marmi %A P. Pietrini %B 17-th annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proceedings of the 16th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping %D 2010 %T A MR Compatible Sensing Glove for Brain Studies %A N. Vanello %A V. Hartwig %A M. Tesconi %A E. Ricciardi %A G. Zupone %A A. Tognetti %A D. Bonino %A E. P. Scilingo %A F. Cutolo %A G. Giovannetti %A P. Pietrini %A D. De Rossi %A L. Landini %B Proceedings of the 16th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping %P 1262 MT–PM– %8 6-10 Giugno %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. of the 19th IEEE International Symposium in Robot and Human Interactive Communication %D 2010 %T Neural Correlates of Human-Robot Handshaking %A N. Vanello %A D. Bonino %A E. Ricciardi %A M. Tesconi %A E. P. Scilingo %A V. Hartwig %A A. Tognetti %A G. Zupone %A F. Cutolo %A G. Giovannetti %A P. Pietrini %A D. De Rossi %A L. Landini %B Proc. of the 19th IEEE International Symposium in Robot and Human Interactive Communication %I IEEE %C NEW YORK – USA %P 555–561 %8 13-15, Settembre %U http://dx.medra.org/10.1109/ROMAN.2010.5598624 %R 10.1109/ROMAN.2010.5598624 %0 Journal Article %J IEEE - ASME Transactions on Mechatronics %D 2008 %T Sensing Glove for Brain Studies: Design and assessment of its Compatibility for fMRI with a Robust Test %A N. Vanello %A V. Hartwig %A M. Tesconi %A E. Ricciardi %A A. Tognetti %A G. Zupone %A R. Gassert %A D. Chapuis %A N. Sgambelluri %A E. P. Scilingo %A G. Giovannetti %A V. Positano %A M. F. Santarelli %A A. Bicchi %A P. Pietrini %A D. De Rossi %A L. Landini %K Haptics %K Robotics %X

In this paper, we describe a biomimetic-fabric-based sensing glove that can be used tomonitor hand posture and gesture. Our device is made of a distributed sensor network of piezoresistive conductive elastomers integrated into an elastic fabric. This solution does not affect natural movement and hand gestures, and can be worn for a long time with no discomfort. The glove could be fruitfully employed in behavioral and functional studies with functional MRI (fMRI) during specific tactile or motor tasks. To assess MR compatibility of the system, a statistical test on phantoms is introduced. This test can also be used for testing the compatibility of mechatronic devices designed to produce different stimuli inside the MR environment. We propose a statistical test to evaluate changes in SNR and time-domain standard deviations between image sequences acquired under different experimental conditions. fMRI experiments on subjects wearing the glove are reported. The reproducibility of fMRIresults obtained with andwithout the glove was estimated. A good similarity between the activated regions was found in the two conditions.

%B IEEE - ASME Transactions on Mechatronics %V 13 %P 345-354 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Brain Res Bull. %D 2008 %T Tactile flow explains haptic counterparts of common visual illusions %A A. Bicchi %A E. P. Scilingo %A E. Ricciardi %A P. Pietrini %K Haptics %K Robotics %X

Interaction with the external world requires the ability to perceive dynamic changes in complex sensorial input and react promptly. Here we show that perception of dynamic stimuli in the visual and tactile sensory modalities share fundamental psychophysical aspects that can be explained by similar computational models. In vision, optic flow provides information on relative motion between the individual and the content of percept. For instance, radial patterns of optic flow are used to estimate time before contact with an approaching object4. Similarly, in the tactile modality, radial patterns of stimuli provide information on softness of probed objects3. Optic flow is also invoked to explain several visual illusions, including the well-known "barber-pole" effect10. Here we introduce a computational model of tactile flow, which is intimately related to existing models for the visual counterpart. The model accounts for psychophysical aspects of dynamic tactile perception and predicts illusory phenomena in the tactile domain, analogous to the barber-pole effect. When subjects touched translating pads with differently oriented gratings, they perceived a direction of motion that was significantly biased towards the orientation of the gratings. Therefore, these findings indicate that visual and tactile flow share similarities at the psychophysical and computational level and may be intended for similar perceptive goals. Results of this analysis have impact on the engineering of better haptic and multimodal interfaces for human-computer interaction.

%B Brain Res Bull. %V 75 %P 737-741 %8 April 15 %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Cerebral Cortex %D 2007 %T The Effect of Visual Experience on the Development of Functional Architecture in hMT+ %A E. Ricciardi %A N. Vanello %A L. Sani %A C. Gentili %A E. P. Scilingo %A L. Landini %A M. Guazzelli %A A. Bicchi %A J. V. Haxby %A P. Pietrini %K Haptics %X

We investigated whether the visual hMT+ cortex plays a role in supramodal representation of sensory flow, not mediated by visual mental imagery. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure neural activity in sighted and congenitally blind individuals during passive perception of optic and tactile flows. Visual motion-responsive cortex, including hMT+, was identified in the lateral occipital and inferior temporal cortices of the sighted subjects by response to optic flow. Tactile flow perception in sighted subjects activated the more anterior part of these cortical regions but deactivated the more posterior part. By contrast, perception of tactile flow in blind subjects activated the full extent, including the more posterior part. These results demonstrate that activation of hMT+ and surrounding cortex by tactile flow is not mediated by visual mental imagery and that the functional organization of hMT+ can develop to subserve tactile flow perception in the absence of any visual experience. Moreover, visual experience leads to a segregation of the motion-responsive occipitotemporal cortex into an anterior subregion involved in the representation of both optic and tactile flows and a posterior subregion that processes optic flow only.

%B Cerebral Cortex %I Oxford University Press %V 17 %P 2933 - 2939 %8 March 19 %G eng %0 Book Section %B Encyclopedia of Healthcare Information Systems %D 2007 %T Electrocutaneous stimulation of skin mechanoreceptors for tactile studies with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging %A V. Hartwig %A C. Cappelli %A N. Vanello %A E. Ricciardi %A E. P. Scilingo %A G. Giovannetti %A M. F. Santarelli %A V. Positano %A A. Bicchi %A P. Pietrini %A L. Landini %K Haptics %B Encyclopedia of Healthcare Information Systems %I Medical Information Science %P 497 - 503 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B The 10th Annual International Workshop on Presence %D 2007 %T An MRI Compatibility Study of a Fabric Sensing Glove for Sensory-Motor Brain Activity Exploration %A N. Vanello %A V. Hartwig %A M. Tesconi %A G. Zupone %A N. Sgambelluri %A A. Tognetti %A E. Ricciardi %A E. P. Scilingo %A A. Bicchi %A P. Pietrini %A D. De Rossi %A L. Landini %E Laura Moreno, Starlab Barcelona, S.L. %K Haptics %B The 10th Annual International Workshop on Presence %P 79-83 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proc. 12th International Conference on Functional Mapping of Human Brain Mapping %D 2006 %T Brain response to visual, tactile and auditory flow in sighted and blind individuals supports a supramodal functional organization in hMT complex %A E. Ricciardi %A L. Sani %A C. Gentili %A D. Bonino %A N. Vanello %A J. V. Haxby %A E. Seifritz %A M. Guazzelli %A L. Landini %A A. Bicchi %A Di Salle, F %A P. Pietrini %K Haptics %B Proc. 12th International Conference on Functional Mapping of Human Brain Mapping %I Elsevier %V 31 %P 512 TH-P %G eng %0 Journal Article %J Neurological Sciences %D 2005 %T Oltre le immagini sensoriali: la rappresentazione degli oggetti nella via visiva ventrale %A P. Pietrini %A E. Ricciardi %A C. Gentili %A D. Bonino %A N. Vanello %A L. Sani %A S. Danti %A M. Guazzelli %A A. Bicchi %A TE Vecchi %K Haptics %B Neurological Sciences %V 26 %P S81–S83 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B International multisensory research forum, 6th Annual meeting %D 2005 %T Optic and tactile flow: does a supramodal response exist? %A E. P. Scilingo %A E. Ricciardi %A P. Pietrini %A A. Bicchi %K Haptics %B International multisensory research forum, 6th Annual meeting %C Rovereto, Italy %8 June %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B 11th annual meeting of the organization for Human Brain Mapping %D 2005 %T Supramodal response of human MT+ complex to visual and tactile perception of flow as demonstrated by fMRI studies in sighted and congenitally blind individuals %A E. Ricciardi %A L. Sani %A C. Gentili %A N. Vanello %A J. V. Haxby %A L. Landini %A A. Bicchi %A P. Pietrini %K Haptics %B 11th annual meeting of the organization for Human Brain Mapping %V 1 %P 129-129 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proceedings of the EuroHaptics 2004 (Technische Universitat Munchen, Germany June 5-7, 2004) %D 2004 %T A compatibility test for tactile displays designed for fMRI studies. %A V. Hartwig %A N. Vanello %A R. Gassert %A D. Chapuis %A M. F. Santarelli %A V. Positano %A E. Ricciardi %A P. Pietrini %A L. Landini %A A. Bicchi %K Haptics %X

The purpose of this document is to provide a compatibility test for mechatronic devices to be used within a diagnostic MR environment. In order to design new devices that can produce tactile stimuli of different nature inside the MRI environment, compatibility tests with several materials and mechatronic devices are reported. Results of these experiments are analyzed in order to evaluate artefacts caused by the presence and actuation of the devices.

%B Proceedings of the EuroHaptics 2004 (Technische Universitat Munchen, Germany June 5-7, 2004) %P 456-458 %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B 10th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping %D 2004 %T Perception of Optic and Tactile Flow Both Activate V5/MT cortical complex in the human brain %A N. Vanello %A E. Ricciardi %A D. Dente %A N. Sgambelluri %A E. P. Scilingo %A C. Gentili %A L. Sani %A V. Positano %A M. F. Santarelli %A M. Guazzelli %A J. V. Haxby %A L. Landini %A A. Bicchi %A P. Pietrini %K Haptics %X

V5/MT complex responds selectively to perception of optic flow (Morrone et al., Nature Neurosci , 2001). Since similarities exist between visual and tactile perception, we hypothesized that tactile flow might also rely on V5/MT response. We and others have shown recently that visual extrastriate cortical areas respond both during visual and tactile recognition of objects, indicating that these regions are organized in a supramodal fashion. In this study, we measured neural response evoked during visual and tactile perception of coherently moving dot patterns to test the hypothesis that V5/MT may be supramodally organized and may respond also to tactile stimulation.

%B 10th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping %G eng %0 Conference Paper %B Proceedings of the EuroHaptics 2004 (Technische Universitat Munchen, Germany June 5-7, 2004) %D 2004 %T Perception of visual and tactile flow activates common cortical areas in the human brain. %A E. Ricciardi %A N. Vanello %A D. Dente %A N. Sgambelluri %A E. P. Scilingo %A C. Gentili %A L. Sani %A V. Positano %A M. F. Santarelli %A M. Guazzelli %A J. V. Haxby %A L. Landini %A A. Bicchi %A P. Pietrini %K Haptics %X

We report results of a pilot study using functional magnetic resonance imaging aimed at determining the neural correlates of tactile flow. We hypothesized that brain response to tactile flow would involve the same cortical areas (V5/MT) that respond to optic flow. Our results showed that V5/MT cortex indeed is activated by tactile flow perception. These findings are consistent with a supramodal organization of brain regions involved in optic and tactile flow processing.

%B Proceedings of the EuroHaptics 2004 (Technische Universitat Munchen, Germany June 5-7, 2004) %P 290-292 %G eng