Interactions between areas of the cortical grasping network

Skilled grasp is a sensorimotor process requiring the brain to extract sensory cues from the environment to shape a motor command. Although a large body of literature has focused on which brain areas either integrate the visual object's properties or control the motor output, it is still unclear how grasp-related information is transferred from one area to another. Understanding interactions between brain areas is crucial for the study of visuomotor transformations. Recently, new advances in both human and non-human primates have shown it is possible to study cortico-cortical interactions during different task contexts. This sheds new light on how brain areas are integrated in a dynamic network for controlling grasping actions.

► The anterior intraparietal area (AIP) is crucial for the processing of grasp-related object properties. ► AIP receives visual information about graspable objects from both the dorsal and ventral stream. ► Reciprocal interactions between the ventral premotor (PMv) and primary motor cortex (M1) allow the motor command to be grasp-specific. ► AIP plays a causal role in influencing interactions between PMv and M1.