An alphabet for hand actions in the human brain
Originally published in MedicalXpress by Carnegie Mellon University on August 18, 2025 edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan Cédito: Violinist.com Using a corkscrew, writing a letter with a pen or unlocking a door by turning a key are actions that seem simple but actually require a complex orchestration of precise movements. So, how does the brain do it ? According to a new study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Coimbra , the human brain has a specialized system that builds these actions in a surprisingly systematic way . Analogous to how all of the words in a language can be created by recombining the letters of its alphabet, the full repertoire of human hand action...