CAREER: The Virtual Whisking Rat: Linking Mechanics and Sensory Neuroscience

鼠须系统是神经科学中最常用的系统之一，用于研究大脑如何将感觉信息与运动信息相结合。然而，到目前为止，小尺寸和快速移动的胡须，使其难以量化的动态。这项工作将量化胡须如何移动，并在大鼠探索行为的对象相互作用。对大鼠胡须系统的进一步了解将为我们提供对调节感知和控制的神经回路的一般功能原理的深入了解。一个动态模型的孤立晶须在自由空气中移动和物体碰撞过程中将开发。这将被纳入一个解剖学上准确的三维模拟环境。最后，行为实验将确定与大鼠区分平面和曲面的能力相关的整个阵列的机械输入模式。最终目标是确定大脑如何完全基于阵列中每个触须底部的力和力矩的模式来表示物体的形状。模拟环境将广泛分布，因此研究涉及大鼠拂动行为的任何大脑结构的研究人员都可以预测胡须与物体的接触模式。模拟环境还将与以前开发的机器人系统一起在教室环境中使用，并帮助招聘代表性不足的少数族裔工程申请人。学生将参与理解基本的机械原理必须应用于感觉神经科学。同时，PI将为西北大学麦考密克工程学院的本科生研究制定一个协调计划。这些举措的成功将在西北大学塞尔卓越教学中心的帮助下进行仔细评估。

The rat whisker system is one of the most commonly-used systems in neuroscience to study how the brain combines sensory information with movement information. To date, however, the small size and rapid movements of the whiskers have made it difficult to quantify their dynamics. This work will quantify how the whiskers move and interact with objects during rat exploratory behavior. Improved understanding of the rat whisker system will provide considerable insight into the general functional principles that govern the neural circuits mediating sensing and control. A dynamic model of the isolated whisker moving in free air and during object collisions will be developed. This will be incorporated into an anatomically accurate 3-dimensional simulation environment. Finally, behavioral experiments will identify the patterns of mechanical input across the array associated with the rat's ability to distinguish between flat and curved surfaces. The ultimate goal is to determine how the brain might represent the shape of an object based entirely on the patterns of forces and moments at the base of each whisker across the array. The simulation environment will be distributed widely, so that researchers working on any brain structure involved in rat whisking behavior can predict whisker-object contact patterns. The simulation environment will also be used in conjunction with previously developed robotic systems in a classroom environment and to aid in the recruitment of underrepresented minority engineering applicants. Students will be engaged in understanding how basic mechanical principles must be applied to sensory neuroscience. Simultaneously, the PI will develop a coordinated program for undergraduate research across the McCormick school of Engineering at Northwestern University. The success of these initiatives will be carefully evaluated with the help of Northwestern's Searle Center for Teaching Excellence.