Distinct neural modes carry information about grasp force and phase in the sensorimotor cortex
Restoring dexterous hand function after injury remains a major challenge, partly due to an incomplete understanding of the cortical dynamics underlying grasping and force control. In this study, we investigated neural activity within the motor and somatosensory cortices of individuals with tetraplegia attempting to perform grasps to different target forces with varying temporal profiles. We identified distinct neural modes modulated during specific phases of grasp that encode force information throughout the task. These findings suggest that brain-computer interfaces could leverage these native neural modes to restore grasping and force modulation.
Authors
- Jennifer L. Collinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4517-5395)
- Gary H. Blumenthal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9520-9234)
- Michael L. Boninger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6966-919X)
- Aaron P. Batista (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1719-0061)
- Robert A. Gaunt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6202-5818)
- Steven M. Chase (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4450-6313)
- Brian M Dekleva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5110-6505)
- Camille Gontier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8433-3491)
- Jorge A González-Martínez
- Lee E Miller
- Isabel C Gonzalez
- Anton R Sobinov
- Byron M Yu
Institutions
- Northwestern University (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (US)
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (US)
- Université de Strasbourg (FR)
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Published
- 2026-02-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.01.702680
- Primary Topic
- EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institutes of Health