Neural Correlates of Vibrissa Resonance

啮齿动物的胡须被称为触须，是面部高度专业化的触觉感觉系统的一部分，可以检测物体的纹理。这些胡须通过它们的位置被“映射”到大脑皮层的躯体感觉区域。最近的研究表明，单个触须具有共振振动特性，源于胡须长度和硬度的生物力学共振，以及围绕其底部的组织的可调节硬度。这个项目使用了物理学、数学模型、电生理学和解剖学等多学科的新组合，以测试这些特征是否可以为胡须输入大脑的空间地图提供一种新的替代解释。如果每个胡须对特定频率有一个可调谐的偏好或放大，那么大脑中的空间图也可能是触觉系统的频率图，在某些方面与中枢听觉系统中的频率图类似。这一结果将对对胡须体感系统的感觉编码进行新的解释具有重要意义，并可能对解释其他感觉系统的中央编码和映射产生影响。此外，该项目将强大的数学成分融入到这项生物学研究中，从而对研究生和本科生的跨学科培训和教育产生了影响。

Rodent whiskers, called vibrissae, are part of a highly specialized tactile sensory system on the face that detects textures of objects. The individual whiskers are 'mapped' by their location into the somatosensory cortex of the brain. Recent work suggests that an individual vibrissa has resonant vibration properties from the biomechanical resonance of the whiskers length and stiffness, along with the adjustable stiffness of the tissues surrounding its base. This project uses physics, mathematical modeling, electrophysiology and anatomy in a novel multidisciplinary combination to test whether these features may provide a new alternative interpretation of the spatial map of whisker input to the brain. If each whisker has a tuned preference or amplification for certain frequencies, then the spatial map in the brain might also be a frequency map for the tactile system, in some ways analgous to the frequency maps found in the central auditory system. Results will be important for a new interpretation of sensory coding of the whisker somatosensory system, and are likely to have an impact on interpreting central coding and mapping in other sensory systems. In addition, this project has an impact on graduate and undergraduate cross-disciplinary training and education by incorporating a strong mathematical component into this biological study.