A novel task to investigate vibrotactile detection in mice

Throughout the last decades, understanding the neural mechanisms of sensory processing has been a key objective for neuroscientists. Many studies focused on uncovering the microcircuit-level architecture of somatosensation using the rodent whisker system as a model. Although these studies have significantly advanced our understanding of tactile processing, the question remains to what extent the whisker system can provide results translatable to the human somatosensory system. To address this, we developed a restrained vibrotactile detection task involving the limb system in mice. A vibrotactile stimulus was delivered to the hindlimb of head-fixed mice, who were trained to perform a Go/No-go detection task. Mice were able to learn this task with satisfactory performance and with reasonably short training times. In addition, the task we developed is versatile, as it can be combined with diverse neuroscience methods. Thus, this study introduces a novel task to study the neuron-level mechanisms of tactile processing in a system other than the more commonly studied whisker system.

Automated summary

Understanding the neural mechanisms of sensory processing has been a key objective for neuroscientists in the past decades. While many studies have focused on the rodent whisker system as a model for tactile processing, it remains unclear to what extent these findings are applicable to the human somatosensory system. To address this, researchers developed a restrained vibrotactile detection task involving the limb system in mice. The mice were able to learn the task with satisfactory performance and short training times, making this a versatile method for studying tactile processing at the neuron level in a different system.