Tapered whiskers are required for active tactile sensation

Author:

Hires Samuel Andrew1,Pammer Lorenz12,Svoboda Karel1,Golomb David134

Affiliation:

1. Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States

2. Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

3. Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Ben Gurion University, Be’er-Sheva, Israel

4. Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University, Be’er-Sheva, Israel

Abstract

Many mammals forage and burrow in dark constrained spaces. Touch through facial whiskers is important during these activities, but the close quarters makes whisker deployment challenging. The diverse shapes of facial whiskers reflect distinct ecological niches. Rodent whiskers are conical, often with a remarkably linear taper. Here we use theoretical and experimental methods to analyze interactions of mouse whiskers with objects. When pushed into objects, conical whiskers suddenly slip at a critical angle. In contrast, cylindrical whiskers do not slip for biologically plausible movements. Conical whiskers sweep across objects and textures in characteristic sequences of brief sticks and slips, which provide information about the tactile world. In contrast, cylindrical whiskers stick and remain stuck, even when sweeping across fine textures. Thus the conical whisker structure is adaptive for sensor mobility in constrained environments and in feature extraction during active haptic exploration of objects and surfaces.

Funder

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Israel Science Foundation

Publisher

eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

Subject

General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine,General Neuroscience

Reference55 articles.

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