Development of rodent whisking: trigeminal input and central pattern generation

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• The rodent whisking pattern is a complex motor behavior essential for sensory exploration.
• Understanding the developmental origins of this pattern is key to understanding sensorimotor integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of whisker sensory input in the emergence and refinement of the rodent whisking pattern.
• To determine the critical period for whisker input in whisking development.

Main Methods:

• Surgical whisker deafferentation in rat pups at varying postnatal stages.
• Video analysis of whisking behavior across the first postnatal month.
• Assessment of whisking kinematics and coordination.

Main Results:

• Whisking emerges around postnatal days 11-13, preceding eye opening.
• Postnatal deafferentation between weeks 2 and 3 delays whisking emergence and impairs kinematics/coordination.
• The degree of delay correlates with the extent of whisker input reduction.

Conclusions:

• Trigeminal afference plays a critical role in the normal development of the whisking pattern.
• A critical period exists for whisker input in establishing whisking motor control.
• These findings inform the understanding of pattern-generating mechanisms in the whisker system.