Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Seeing and not seeing.

Tali Kimchi1, Joseph Terkel

  • 1Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. kimhita@post.tau.ac.il

Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|December 20, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Subterranean mammals use light cues for circadian rhythms and multiple senses for navigation. Seismic signals may also aid in obstacle detection and depth perception underground.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Distinct oxytocin populations support seismic social communication and militant behaviors in a naturally solitary wild rodent.

iScience·2025
Same author

Single-cell genomics of the mouse olfactory cortex reveals contrasts with neocortex and ancestral signatures of cell type evolution.

Nature neuroscience·2025
Same author

Maternal high-fat or low-protein diets promote autism-related behavior and altered social behavior within groups in offspring male mice.

Scientific reports·2024
Same author

Sexually dimorphic oxytocin circuits drive intragroup social conflict and aggression in wild house mice.

Nature neuroscience·2024
Same author

Sexual behavior and drive: Is it all in your brain?

Current biology : CB·2023
Same author

Author Correction: Functional MRI of murine olfactory bulbs at 15.2 T reveals characteristic activation patterns when stimulated by different odors.

Scientific reports·2023

Area of Science:

  • Zoology
  • Sensory Biology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Subterranean mammals navigate lightless environments using diverse sensory inputs.
  • Circadian rhythms in these mammals are influenced by light stimuli.
  • Spatial orientation relies on olfactory, tactile, geomagnetic, and self-generated cues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the sensory mechanisms subterranean mammals use for orientation and communication.
  • To investigate the potential role of seismic signals in subterranean navigation and obstacle detection.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on subterranean mammal sensory perception.
  • Analysis of established and proposed orientation mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • Subterranean mammals perceive light for circadian entrainment.
  • Short-distance orientation uses olfactory and tactile cues.
  • Long-distance orientation employs geomagnetic and self-generated cues.
  • Seismic signals are proposed as a novel echolocation mechanism for depth and obstacle detection.

Conclusions:

  • Subterranean mammals possess sophisticated sensory systems for navigating and communicating in underground environments.
  • These mechanisms are comparable in efficiency to those used by sighted mammals.
  • Seismic signal utilization represents a potentially significant, yet understudied, aspect of subterranean sensory ecology.

Related Experiment Videos