CRCNS: Collaborative Research: Responses of the Rodent-Vibrissal-Trigeminal System to Air Currents

啮齿动物的振动-三叉神经系统是神经科学中研究感觉运动整合的重要模型之一。然而，到目前为止，研究只集中在直接的触觉上。Hartmann和Gopal实验室最近的研究结果表明，大鼠触须对气流具有强大且可重复的机械反应。此外，振动-三叉神经系统中的神经元已知对空气膨胀有反应。这些结果表明，大鼠可能利用其触须来探测气流并确定风向。西北埃尔姆赫斯特大学的研究小组将进行机械、行为和计算研究，以表征触须在风跟随行为中的作用，以及与触须有关的神经对气流的反应。这些将构成对陆地哺乳动物感知和跟随风的潜在机制的一些初步研究。该团队将专门确定触须的形态特征及其在神秘垫上的方向，从而实现流量感知行为。他们将研究一个广泛的假设，即触须在神秘垫上的不同机械变形可以编码各种流动参数。最后，将进行行为实验，以确定大鼠使用其触须感知气流的程度，并量化行为动物在趋风过程中使用的运动策略。西北大学和埃尔姆赫斯特大学的合作将为本科生提供重要的研究机会；此外，还将制作视频，教授本研究基础上的流体动力学和生物传感的基本原理。这项工作对嗅觉定位和嗅觉系统的结构具有潜在的重大意义，并可能导致新的流量传感技术的发展。

The rodent vibrissal-trigeminal system is one of the most important models in neuroscience for the study of sensorimotor integration. To date, however, research has focused exclusively on direct tactile sensation. Recent results from the Hartmann and Gopal laboratories have demonstrated that rat vibrissae have a robust and repeatable mechanical response to airflow. In addition, neurons in the vibrissal-trigeminal system are known to respond to air puffs. These results suggest that the rat may use its vibrissae to detect air currents and determine wind direction. The Northwestern-Elmhurst team will perform mechanical, behavioral, and computational studies to characterize the role of vibrissae in wind-following behaviors, and the vibrissal-related neural response to air currents. These will constitute some of the first investigations of the underlying mechanisms that permit terrestrial mammals to sense and follow the wind. The team will specifically identify the morphological features of vibrissae and their orientation on the mystacial pad that enable flow sensing behaviors. They will investigate the broad hypothesis that differential mechanical deformations of the vibrissae across the mystacial pad can encode a variety of flow parameters. Finally, behavioral experiments will be performed to determine the extent to which the rat uses its vibrissae to sense airflow, and to quantify the movement strategies used during anemotaxis in the behaving animal. The partnership between Northwestern and Elmhurst will provide significant research opportunities for undergraduates; in addition, videos will be developed to teach the fundamental principles of fluid dynamics and biological sensing that underlie this research. The proposed work has potentially large implications for olfactory localization and the structure of the olfactory system, and is likely to lead to the development of novel flow-sensing technologies.