A Gripping Tale – Each Flick of a Finger Takes the Work of Five – NYTimes.com

Each Flick of a Digit Is a Job for All 5…Not only are the ring and pinky fingers physically tethered together by a shared tendon, as anatomists long have known; measurements of neuromuscular activation patterns have shown that all fingers, including the ones with the greatest structural autonomy, the thumb and index finger, are keenly responsive to every flex and twitch of their neighboring digits.

“Even when you think you’re moving just one finger,” said Marc H. Schieber, a professor of neurology and neurobiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, “you’re really controlling your entire hand.”…

A Gripping Tale – Each Flick of a Finger Takes the Work of Five – NYTimes.com.