Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
Volume 113, Issue 10, Pages 3511-3518Publisher
AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00011.2015
Keywords
active sensing; biomechanics; somatosensation; trigeminal; whisker
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Funding
- National Science Foundation (NSF) [IOS-0818414, CAREER IOS-0846088, EFRI-0938007]
- NSF Integrative Research in Motor Control and Movement Grant [DGE-0903637]
- Department of Defense, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [0846088] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Engineering
- Emerging Frontiers & Multidisciplinary Activities [0938007] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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The rodent vibrissal-trigeminal system is one of the most widely used models for the study of somatosensation and tactile perception, but to date the field has been unable to quantify the complete set of mechanical input signals generated during natural whisking behavior. In this report we show that during whisking behavior of awake rats (Rattus norvegicus), the whisker will often bend out of its plane of rotation, generating sizeable mechanical (tactile) signals out of the plane. We then develop a model of whisker bending that allows us to compute the three-dimensional tactile signals at the vibrissal base during active whisking behavior. Considerable information can be lost if whisking motions are considered only in two dimensions, and we offer some suggestions for experimentalists concerned with monitoring the direction of bending. These data represent the first quantification of the physical signals transmitted to the mechanoreceptors in the follicle during active whisking behavior.
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