Embodied information processing: vibrissa mechanics and texture features shape micromotions in actively sensing rats.

ABSTRACT: Peripheral sensory organs provide the first transformation of sensory information, and understanding how their physical embodiment shapes transduction is central to understanding perception. We report the characterization of surface transduction during active sensing in the rodent vibrissa sensory system, a widely used model. Employing high-speed videography, we tracked vibrissae while rats sampled rough and smooth textures. Variation in vibrissa length predicted motion mean frequencies, including for the highest velocity events, indicating that biomechanics, such as vibrissa resonance, shape signals most likely to drive neural activity. Rough surface contact generated large amplitude, high-velocity "stick-slip-ring" events, while smooth surfaces generated smaller and more regular stick-sl

SUBMITTER: Ritt JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4391974 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature