{"title":"Hemispheric asymmetries in the control of upper limb movements.","authors":"Luigi Trojano","doi":"10.1016/B978-0-443-15646-5.00024-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This chapter deals with the unique human abilities of using tools, imitating others' gestures, drawing, and building complex items. Herein, after a brief overview of clinical manifestations and assessment of disorders of tool use and imitation (upper limb apraxia) and of the impairments in drawing and assembling multipart objects (constructional apraxia), brain asymmetries are discussed mainly starting from the neuropsychologic studies on patients with focal brain lesions, although both upper limb apraxia and constructional apraxia are often observed during the course of neurodegenerative diseases. Although no room is allowed here for a full discussion of brain-behavior relationships, relevant functional neuroimaging findings in healthy individuals are considered. The data presented in this chapter clearly demonstrate that tool use, gesture imitation, and \"formative\" activities (i.e., drawing and assembling) require the interplay of several brain areas and neural networks distributed over both hemispheres. Nonetheless, gesture processing exhibits a quite strong lateralization to the left hemisphere in typical right-handers. As regards \"formative\" activities, the neural networks in both hemispheres seem to provide complementary contributions, although the left inferior parietal lobule might play a specific role. The convergence of gesture processing and \"formative activities\" in the parietal lobes might be related to their considerable expansion in our species and could suggest that some shared basic, still unknown, computational processes allowed the development of these skills in modern humans.</p>","PeriodicalId":12907,"journal":{"name":"Handbook of clinical neurology","volume":"208 ","pages":"393-405"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Handbook of clinical neurology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-15646-5.00024-5","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This chapter deals with the unique human abilities of using tools, imitating others' gestures, drawing, and building complex items. Herein, after a brief overview of clinical manifestations and assessment of disorders of tool use and imitation (upper limb apraxia) and of the impairments in drawing and assembling multipart objects (constructional apraxia), brain asymmetries are discussed mainly starting from the neuropsychologic studies on patients with focal brain lesions, although both upper limb apraxia and constructional apraxia are often observed during the course of neurodegenerative diseases. Although no room is allowed here for a full discussion of brain-behavior relationships, relevant functional neuroimaging findings in healthy individuals are considered. The data presented in this chapter clearly demonstrate that tool use, gesture imitation, and "formative" activities (i.e., drawing and assembling) require the interplay of several brain areas and neural networks distributed over both hemispheres. Nonetheless, gesture processing exhibits a quite strong lateralization to the left hemisphere in typical right-handers. As regards "formative" activities, the neural networks in both hemispheres seem to provide complementary contributions, although the left inferior parietal lobule might play a specific role. The convergence of gesture processing and "formative activities" in the parietal lobes might be related to their considerable expansion in our species and could suggest that some shared basic, still unknown, computational processes allowed the development of these skills in modern humans.
期刊介绍:
The Handbook of Clinical Neurology (HCN) was originally conceived and edited by Pierre Vinken and George Bruyn as a prestigious, multivolume reference work that would cover all the disorders encountered by clinicians and researchers engaged in neurology and allied fields. The first series of the Handbook (Volumes 1-44) was published between 1968 and 1982 and was followed by a second series (Volumes 45-78), guided by the same editors, which concluded in 2002. By that time, the Handbook had come to represent one of the largest scientific works ever published. In 2002, Professors Michael J. Aminoff, François Boller, and Dick F. Swaab took on the responsibility of supervising the third (current) series, the first volumes of which published in 2003. They have designed this series to encompass both clinical neurology and also the basic and clinical neurosciences that are its underpinning. Given the enormity and complexity of the accumulating literature, it is almost impossible to keep abreast of developments in the field, thus providing the raison d''être for the series. The series will thus appeal to clinicians and investigators alike, providing to each an added dimension. Now, more than 140 volumes after it began, the Handbook of Clinical Neurology series has an unparalleled reputation for providing the latest information on fundamental research on the operation of the nervous system in health and disease, comprehensive clinical information on neurological and related disorders, and up-to-date treatment protocols.