The standard posture of the hand

Perceived limb position is known to rely on sensory signals and motor commands. Another potential source of input is a standard representation of body posture, which may bias perceived limb position toward more stereotyped positions. Recent results show that tactile stimuli are processed more efficiently when delivered to a thumb in a relatively low position or an index finger in a relatively high position. This observation suggests that we may have a standard posture of the body that promotes a more efficient interaction with the environment. In this study, we mapped the standard posture of the entire hand by characterizing the spatial associations of all 5 digits. Moreover, we show that the effect is not an artifact of intermanual integration. Results showed that the thumb is associated with low positions, while the other fingers are associated with upper locations.