Getting a grasp of theories of sensorimotor control of the hand: Identification of underlying neural mechanisms

The target article nicely introduces important biomechanical and neural features that make the hand a very complex system, yet a very powerful model for gaining insight into fundamental principles of sensorimotor control. The article also presents an overview of the reference configuration (RC) hypothesis as a general framework to address experimental findings from studies of multidigit force coordination. The appeal of the RC-hypothesis is its (apparent) simplicity as well as its practical applications in robotics, e.g., controlling compliant artificial hands (Bicchi et al., 2011). This commentary argues for the need to (a) quantify the underlying physiological mechanisms, as well as (b) integrate mechanisms responsible for sensorimotor transformations, planning, and learning.