Third Thumb

We often ask for another pair of hands, but what would you do with an extra thumb? For a human to gain a useful appendage, we rely not only on technology, but also on our brain’s ability to learn and adapt. By adding a 3D-printed prosthetic to the hand of able-bodied volunteers and a quick training session, participants effectively carried out dexterous tasks like stirring coffee whilst holding the cup with the same hand. Impressive – but what’s going on in their brains? Volunteers quickly adapted to a new digit and used it without thinking about it, but scans revealed that the brain’s representation of fingers changed, with less of a distinction between them. Whether prosthetics like these were replacing lost function, or were an extension to our bodies, this shows how quickly our brains could adapt to future prosthetic technologies, but we must also consider their impact on the brain.

Written by Sophie Arthur

Sophie Arthur

former Science Communications Officer MRC LMS

Formerly a stem cell biologist, Sophie has since moved into science communication working at the MRC LMS. She also writes an award winning science and education blog Soph talks science.

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• Image by Dani Clode
• Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Queen Square, UK
• Image copyright held by the original authors
• Research by Paulina Kieliba and colleagues, published in Science Robotics, May 2021