  The human somatosensory cortex is intimately linked to other central brain
functions such as vision, audition, mechanoreception, and motor planning and
control. These links are established through brain learning, and display a
considerable functional plasticity. This latter fulfills an important adaptive
role and ensures, for example, that humans are able to reliably manipulate and
control objects in the physical world under constantly changing conditions in
their immediate sensory environment. Variations in human grip force are a
direct reflection of this specific kind of functional plasticity. Data from
preliminary experiments where wearable wireless sensor technology (sensor
gloves) was exploited to measure human grip force variations under varying
sensory input conditions (eyes open or shut, soft music or hard music during
gripping) are discussed here to show the extent to which grip force sensing
permits quantifying somatosensory brain interactions and their functional
plasticity. Experiments to take this preliminary work further are suggested.
Implications for robotics, in particular the development of end-effector robots
for upper limb movement planning and control, are brought forward.
