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

职业：虚拟的拂尘老鼠：连接力学和感觉神经科学

• 批准号: 0846088
• 负责人: Mitra Hartmann
• 金额: $ 58.48万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0846088&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Virtual; Whisking; Rat; Linking

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.

大鼠胡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结合起来。然而，迄今为止，晶须的小尺寸和快速运动使得量化它们的动态变得困难。这项工作将量化老鼠探索行为期间胡须如何移动以及与物体的相互作用。加深对大鼠胡须系统的了解将有助于深入了解控制介导传感和控制的神经回路的一般功能原理。将开发在自由空气中和物体碰撞期间移动的孤立晶须的动态模型。这将被纳入解剖学上精确的 3 维模拟环境中。最后，行为实验将识别与大鼠区分平面和曲面的能力相关的阵列上的机械输入模式。最终目标是完全根据阵列中每个晶须底部的力和力矩模式来确定大脑如何表示物体的形状。模拟环境将广泛分布，以便研究涉及老鼠胡须行为的任何大脑结构的研究人员可以预测胡须与物体的接触模式。该模拟环境还将与先前在课堂环境中开发的机器人系统结合使用，并帮助招聘代表性不足的少数族裔工程申请人。学生将致力于了解如何将基本机械原理应用于感觉神经科学。同时，项目负责人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。