Whisker touch sensing guides locomotion in small, quadrupedal mammals
Whisker touch sensing guides locomotion in small, quadrupedal mammals
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2018.0592
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发表时间：
2018-06-13
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Prescott, Tony J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Grant, Robyn A.;Breakell, Vicki;Prescott, Tony J.
所有小型哺乳动物都有突出的面部胡须，它们用作触觉传感器，以指导复杂栖息地的导航和觅食。夜间活动的树栖哺乳动物往往有最长和最密集的胡须，而半水生哺乳动物的胡须最敏感。在这里，我们提出的证据表明，许多小型哺乳动物使用他们的胡须，以触觉指导安全的脚定位。具体而言，在11个，小，非飞行的哺乳动物物种，我们表明，前爪放置总是福尔斯落在地面接触区的胡须字段和前爪宽度总是小于胡须跨度。我们还展示了胡须扫描运动（whisking）和主动控制元素的共性，与感兴趣的物体接触增加，在多个小型哺乳动物物种，以前只在常见的实验室动物。总的来说，我们建议，指导运动，旁边的环境探索，是一个共同的功能，在小型四足哺乳动物的触须触摸感应。
All small mammals have prominent facial whiskers that they employ as tactile sensors to guide navigation and foraging in complex habitats. Nocturnal, arboreal mammals tend to have the longest and most densely packed whiskers, and semi-aquatic mammals have the most sensitive. Here we present evidence to indicate that many small mammals use their whiskers to tactually guide safe foot positioning. Specifically, in 11, small, non-flying mammal species, we demonstrate that forepaw placement always falls within the ground contact zone of the whisker field and that forepaw width is always smaller than whisker span. We also demonstrate commonalities of whisker scanning movements (whisking) and elements of active control, associated with increasing contact with objects of interest, across multiple small mammal species that have previously only been shown in common laboratory animals. Overall, we propose that guiding locomotion, alongside environment exploration, is a common function of whisker touch sensing in small, quadrupedal mammals.