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Predictive whisker kinematics reveal context-dependent sensorimotor strategies
Avner Wallach1,2, David Deutsch1,3, Tess Baker Oram1,4
1Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Plos Biology
|May 27, 2020
Summary
Rats adjust their whisker movements, known as whisking, based on their environment and available senses. This active exploration helps them maintain sensory information, even in laboratory settings.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Biology
- Sensory Systems
Background:
- Animals use active sensing to gather information about their surroundings.
- Rodents, like rats, utilize whisking, a cyclic scanning motion of facial whiskers, for tactile exploration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how whisking kinematics are influenced by behavioral context.
- To understand the role of internal processes (attention, expectations) and external constraints (sensory/motor limitations) on whisking.
- To determine if whisking adapts to preserve sensorimotor coverage.
Main Methods:
- Recorded rat whisking at high temporal resolution.
- Utilized two experimental contexts: freely moving and head-fixed rats.
- Manipulated sensory configurations by varying the number of intact vibrissae (whiskers).
Main Results:
- Whisking 'pumps' predict upcoming exploratory direction and locomotion.
- Rats exhibited a backward redistribution of sensorimotor resources during motionlessness and head fixation.
- Head-fixed rats showed diverse whisking profiles to compensate for reduced motor freedom.
- Altering the number of available vibrissae led to adaptive changes in whisking strategy.
Conclusions:
- Rats actively adapt their whisking behavior to maintain sensorimotor coverage.
- Whisking kinematics are contingent on behavioral context, including internal states and external limitations.
- This adaptability is crucial for navigating and exploring environments under varying conditions, including laboratory constraints.
