A neurobehavioral device to study the neural mechanism in reach to grasp task

A mechatronic device was designed for implementing neurobehavioral experiments to investigate the potential correlation between primates´ cortical/peripheral neural signals (PNS) and voluntary control of upper limb movement during reach to grasp tasks. The device consists of 3 major components: an apparatus with 3 different shaped targets for grasp, a software program controlling the apparatus, and an event board for detecting and encoding different events. The 3 targets attached on the apparatus are driven by stepping motors. Their location and orientation can be quickly switched according to different experimental paradigms. Perturbations can also be added during motor planning and execution of certain tasks. With this device, more varieties of reach to grasp tasks can be set. The device can also record the motion sequence during the reach to grasp task and send out a trigger signal to the signal acquisition and motion capture equipment to realize real-time synchronization.