Coordination between Eye Movement and Whisking in Head-Fixed Mice Navigating a Plus Maze

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Animal Behavior
• Motor Control

Background:

• Complex navigation relies on integrating sensory information and motor planning.
• Rodent locomotion is known to involve coordinated movements, including whisking.
• Previous studies indicated asymmetric whisker positioning predicts turn direction in head-fixed mice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if mice coordinate eye movements with whisker movements during navigation.
• To determine the temporal relationship between eye and whisker movements in predicting turn direction.
• To understand the role of both eye and whisker movements in active behavioral planning.

Main Methods:

• Behavioral analysis of head-fixed mice navigating a plus maze.
• Tracking of whisker position and eye movements.
• Correlation analysis to assess the predictive power of whisker asymmetry and eye movements on turn direction.

Main Results:

• Mice exhibit conjugate eye movements in the direction of the upcoming turn, coordinated with whisker movements.
• Asymmetric whisker positioning was found to predict turn direction earlier than saccadic eye movements.
• Whisker asymmetry increases preceding saccadic eye movements, indicating a temporal lead.

Conclusions:

• Rodents' motor plans for active navigation involve coordinated movements of both eyes and whiskers.
• Behavioral states related to navigation planning can be decoded from the combined movements of eyes and whiskers.
• This study highlights the integrated sensory-motor control underlying complex environmental exploration in mice.