Study of sensorimotor integration in the whisker system of freely moving animals

感觉神经科学中的一个基本问题是感觉神经元在自然行为中传递什么信息（“感觉编码”）。神经科学教科书详细描述了大脑皮层是如何被划分为“感觉”和“运动”区域的。然而，新的研究，包括我们的最新发现，已经挑战了这一教条，表明大脑皮层和丘脑区域的神经元活动传统上被认为是纯粹的感觉，实际上取决于动物的运动状态（例如跑步速度）。这表明我们对感知和行动的大脑机制的理解存在重大差距。也是一个令人兴奋的新发现的机会。

A fundamental question in sensory neuroscience is what information sensory neurons convey during natural behaviour ('sensory coding'). Neuroscience textbooks describe in detail how the cortex is parcelled up into 'sensory' and 'motor' regions. However, new studies, including our latest findings, have challenged this dogma by showing that the activity of neurons in areas of the cerebral cortex and thalamus classically considered to be purely sensory actually depend on an animal's motor state (eg running speed). This indicates a major gap in our grasp of brain mechanisms of perception and action. And also an exciting opportunity for new discoveries.