The Hand and the Brain: From Lucy's Thumb to the Thought-Controlled Robotic Hand

205 Pages·2014·5.82 MB·English

by  Göran Lundborg (auth.)

Göran Lundborg
The Hand
and the Brain
From Lucy's Thumb to the
Thought-Controlled Robotic Hand
The Hand and the Brain

Göran Lundborg

The Hand and the Brain
From Lucy's Thumb
to the Thought- Controlled Robotic Hand
Göran Lundborg, MD, PhD
Hand Surgery
Department of Clinical Sciences
Malmö Lund University
Skäne University Hospital
Malmö
Sweden
ISBN 978-1-4471-5333-7 ISBN 978-1-4471-5334-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4471-5334-4
Springer London Heidelberg New York Dordrecht
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013949173
© Springer-Verlag London 2014
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection
with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifi cally for the purpose of being entered and
executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of this
publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the Publisher's
location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer.
Permissions for use may be obtained through RightsLink at the Copyright Clearance Center. Violations
are liable to prosecution under the respective Copyright Law.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of
publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for
any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with
respect to the material contained herein.
Printed on acid-free paper
Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
To my family

Pref ace
The hand has been called an extension of the brain, an outer brain and a mirror of
the soul. Much of our personality and identity is contained in the gestures and
movements of the hands. The hand refl ects our mind, expressing our innermost
thoughts and wishes. With our hands we communicate with people. The hands
plead, bless and love; they express hope, despair, disgust and hatred. They welcome,
caress and punish.
In my career as a hand surgeon, I have seen the most injured, painful and mal-
formed hands, and I have authored books, including several textbooks explaining
how to provide patients with the best treatments. But why shouldn’t healthy, nonin-
jured hands also be worthy of a book? All their amazing experience and tacit accu-
mulated knowledge offer an enormous wealth of possibilities. Thanks to our hands
we can build and operate computers, key in correct PIN codes and use the TV
remote control. Creative hands are the basis of our civilization; they construct mon-
uments, build bridges, create parks and build skyscrapers; they craft symphonies,
make musical instruments, bring about pleasant music and create great works of art.
But the hand is not only the brain’s delicate and fi ne-tuned instrument – it is also
a sense organ. The sense of touch and the hyper-advanced sensory functions of the
hand make it possible to examine and explore our surrounding world. Our sense of
touch lets us discover the true character of what the eye sees – seeing is believing, but
touching is understanding . The hand ‘sees’ in dark, and the sense of touch can even
substitute for the loss of other senses; a blind person reads the Braille alphabet with
his fi ngertips. The sense of touch makes it possible to differentiate silk from velvet,
and the fi ngertips easily discover scratches and stray grains of salt on the surface of
a table. Representation of the hand takes up a very large area in the brain, and this
area expands as sensory infl ow and hand activity increase – yes, the hand shapes the
brain. Perhaps we can even regard the brain as an extension of the hand into our soul.
If a hand is missing from birth due to a congenital anomaly or an accident, is
there any way to substitute for a lost hand? Can a hand be transplanted from one
individual to another? Or can an artifi cial hand substitute for an actual hand and
intuitively be controlled by the mind and capable of executing the same movements
and grip functions as an actual hand?
vii
viii Preface
And how did the story begin? Today we know that the hand was highly advanced
more than 4 million years ago, at a time when our ancestors’ brains were still rudi-
mentary and the size of a chimpanzee’s. Perhaps it was the advanced, agile hand,
with all its promise for tool making, gestures and signs, that stimulated the brain’s
development. Perhaps we are indebted to the early hand for the development of our
cognitive capacity and intelligence as well as our capacities for abstract thinking,
language, art and music.
So the saga of the hand is fascinating. As you read this book, you will gain
insights you have never thought of before, and you will be surprised when you
realise the role of hands in our culture and in our life. So sit back in your favourite
chair, relax, read and get to know yourself – or, more precisely, your hand.
Malmö, Sweden Göran Lundborg, MD, PhD
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to friends, co-workers and experts who have contributed in various
ways to the birth of this book, especially Christian Antfolk, Bo Balldin, Lasse
Bengtsson, Anders Björkman, Isabella Björkman-Burtscher, Ingela Brovik, Rafael
Cierpka, Christian Cipriano, Marco Controzzi, Jan Delden, Robin af Ekenstam,
Henrik Ehrsson, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Thomas Hansson, Björn Henriksson, Anna
Holmbom, Mats Huddén, Gunnar Jansson, Anders Jarlert, Marco Lanzetta, Bengt
Nilsson, Gabriela Pichler, Birgitta Rosén, Fredrik Sebelius, Niklas Schiöler, Viola
Sörensson, Jimmy Wahlstedt, Andreas Weibull and Bertil Widenfalk.
I am very grateful to Professor Dean Snow of Pennsylvania State University,
who very generously allowed me to use the handprints from the Gargas and Pech
Merle caves that he personally documented.
A special thanks to my artist Fredrik Johansson and my secretary Tina Folker, who
have been an enormous help in designing and processing the text and references.
I also want to express my great appreciation to Linda Evans and Jennifer Evans
of Changeling Translations AB, who corrected and improved the quality of my
English text in a very skilled and professional way.
And fi nally, a warm thanks to my dear wife Christina, who has been unfailing in
her support and a constant source of inspiration.
Generous fi nancial support has been provided by the Evy and Gunnar Sandberg
Foundation and the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund.
ix