scholarly journals Whisking asymmetry signals motor preparation and the behavioral state of mice

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina E. Dominiak ◽  
Mostafa A. Nashaat ◽  
Keisuke Sehara ◽  
Hatem Oraby ◽  
Matthew E. Larkum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Movement Preparation ◽  
Behavioral State ◽  
Tactile Sensors ◽  
Central Function ◽  
Tactile Input ◽  
Plus Maze ◽  
The Face ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
The Brain

AbstractA central function of the brain is to plan, predict and imagine the effect of movement in a dynamically changing environment. Here we show that in mice head fixed in a plus-maze, floating on air, and trained to pick lanes based on visual stimuli, the asymmetric movement and position of whiskers on the two sides of the face signals whether the animal is moving, turning, expecting reward or licking. We show that 1) we can decode and predict the behavioral state of the animal based on this asymmetry, 2) that tactile input from whiskers indicates little about the behavioral state, and 3) that movement of the nose correlates with asymmetry, indicating that facial expression of the mouse is itself correlated with behavioral state. Amazingly, the movement of whiskers – a behavior that is not instructed or necessary in the task--informs an observer about what a mouse is doing in the maze. Thus, these mobile tactile sensors reflect a behavioral and movement-preparation state of the mouse.

scholarly journals WHISKiT Physics: A three-dimensional mechanical model of the rat vibrissal array

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadina O. Zweifel ◽  
Nicholas E. Bush ◽  
Ian Abraham ◽  
Todd D. Murphey ◽  
Mitra J.Z. Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Simulation Framework ◽  
Mechanical Signals ◽  
Somatosensory Information ◽  
Tactile Input ◽  
Input Signals ◽  
The Face ◽  
Whisker Stimulation ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Behavioral Conditions

AbstractRodents tactually explore the environment using ~62 whiskers (vibrissae), regularly arranged in arrays on both sides of the face. The rat vibrissal system is one of the most commonly used models to study how the brain encodes and processes somatosensory information. To date, however, researchers have been unable to quantify the mechanosensory input at the base of each whisker, because the field lacks accurate models of three-dimensional whisker dynamics. To close this gap, we developed WHISKiT Physics, a simulation framework that incorporates realistic morphology of the full rat whisker array to predict time-varying mechanical signals for all whiskers. The dynamics of single whiskers were optimized based on experimental data, and then validated against free tip oscillations and the dynamic response to collision. The model is then extrapolated to include all whiskers in the array, taking into account each whisker’s individual geometry. Simulations of first mode resonances across the array approximately match previous experimental results and fall well within the range expected from biological variability. Finally, we use WHISKiT Physics to simulate mechanical signals across the array during three distinct behavioral conditions: passive whisker stimulation, active whisking against two pegs, and active whisking in a natural environment. The results demonstrate that the simulation system can be used to predict input signals during a variety of behaviors, something that would be difficult or impossible in the biological animal. In all behavioral conditions, interactions between array morphology and individual whisker geometry shape the tactile input to the whisker system.

scholarly journals Predicting behavior from eye movement and whisking asymmetry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronny Bergmann ◽  
Keisuke Sehara ◽  
Sina E. Dominiak ◽  
Jens Kremkow ◽  
Matthew E. Larkum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Plus Maze ◽  
The Face ◽  
Direction Of Movement ◽  
Directional Preference ◽  
Correct Direction

AbstractNavigation through complex environments requires motor planning, motor preparation and the coordination between multiple sensory–motor modalities. For example, the stepping motion when we walk is coordinated with motion of the torso, arms, head and eyes. In rodents, movement of the animal through the environment is often coordinated with whisking. Here we trained head fixed mice – navigating a floating Airtrack plus maze – to overcome their directional preference and use cues indicating the direction of movement expected in each trial. Once cued, mice had to move backward out of a lane, then turn in the correct direction, and enter a new lane. In this simple paradigm, as mice begin to move backward, they position their whiskers asymmetrically: whiskers on one side of the face protract, and on the other side they retract. This asymmetry reflected the turn direction. Additionally, on each trial, mice move their eyes conjugately in the direction of the upcoming turn. Not only do they move their eyes, but saccadic eye movement is coordinated with the asymmetric positioning of the whiskers. Our analysis shows that the asymmetric positioning of the whiskers predicts the direction of turn that mice will make at an earlier stage than eye movement does. We conclude that, when mice move or plan to move in complex real-world environments, their motor plan and behavioral state can be read out in the movement of both their whiskers and eyes.Significance statementNatural behavior occurs in multiple sensory and motor dimensions. When we move through our environment we coordinate the movement of our body, head, eyes and limbs. Here we show that when mice navigate a maze, they move their whiskers and eyes; they position their whiskers asymmetrically, and use saccadic eye movements. The position of the eyes and whiskers predicts the direction mice will turn in. This work suggests that when mice move through their environment, they coordinate the visual-motor and somatosensory-motor systems.

Hemispheric and Facial Asymmetry: Faces of Academe

1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 663-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Hemispheric Specialization ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Facial Asymmetry ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Humanities Faculty ◽  
The Face ◽  
Academic Faculty ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Mathematics And Physics

Facial asymmetry (facedness) of selected academic faculty members was studied in relation to brain asymmetry and cognitive specialization. Comparisons of facedness were made among humanities faculty (H), faculty members of mathematics and physics (M-P), psychologists (P), and a group of randomly selected individuals (R). Facedness was defined in terms of the relative sizes (in square centimeters) of the two hemifaces. It was predicted that the four groups would show differences in facedness, namely, H, right face bias; M-P, left face bias; P, no bias; and R, no bias. The predictions were confirmed, and the results interpreted in terms of known differences in hemispheric specialization of cognitive functions as they relate to the dominant cognitive activity of each of the different groups. In view of the contralateral control of the two hemifaces (below the eyes) by the two hemispheres of the brain, the two sides of the face undergo differential muscular development, thus creating facial asymmetry. Other factors, such as gender, also may affect facial asymmetry. Suggestions for further research on facedness are discussed.

About the Brain, the Face, and Emotion

1984 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 567-568
Author(s):  
Gilles Kirouac
Keyword(s):  
The Face ◽  
The Brain

Sport practice changes the brain: A study on motor preparation in top-level shooters

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Spinelli ◽  
Teresa Aprile Francesco Di Russo ◽  
Sabrina Pitzalis
Keyword(s):  
Motor Preparation ◽  
Sport Practice ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Time to Be SHY? Some Comments on Sleep and Synaptic Homeostasis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio Tononi ◽  
Chiara Cirelli
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Strength ◽  
Universal Function ◽  
Systematic Bias ◽  
Synaptic Homeostasis ◽  
The Face ◽  
Essential Function ◽  
Function Of Sleep ◽  
The Brain

Sleep must serve an essential, universal function, one that offsets the risk of being disconnected from the environment. The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY) is an attempt to identify this essential function. Its core claim is that sleep is needed to reestablish synaptic homeostasis, which is challenged by the remarkable plasticity of the brain. In other words, sleep is “the price we pay for plasticity.” In this issue, M. G. Frank reviewed several aspects of the hypothesis and raised several issues. The comments below provide a brief summary of the motivations underlying SHY and clarify that SHY is a hypothesis not about specific mechanisms, but about a universal, essential function of sleep. This function is the preservation of synaptic homeostasis in the face of a systematic bias toward a net increase in synaptic strength—a challenge that is posed by learning during adult wake, and by massive synaptogenesis during development.

scholarly journals Aprosopia/holoprosencephaly in a stillborn puppy: when the face predicts the brain

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-10
Author(s):  
Clairton Marcolongo Pereira ◽  
Tayná B. Silva ◽  
Laiz Zaché Roque ◽  
Bárbara Barros ◽  
Luiz Alexandre Moscon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Face ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Adaptation of turnip mosaic potyvirus to a specific niche reduces its genetic and environmental robustness

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anamarija Butković ◽  
Rubén González ◽  
Inés Cobo ◽  
Santiago F Elena
Keyword(s):  
Mutation Rates ◽  
Permissive Temperature ◽  
Fitness Component ◽  
Temperature Conditions ◽  
Environmental Perturbations ◽  
Genetic Robustness ◽  
Congruence Theory ◽  
The Face ◽  
Environmental Robustness ◽  
Two Sides

Abstract Robustness is the preservation of the phenotype in the face of genetic and environmental perturbations. It has been argued that robustness must be an essential fitness component of RNA viruses owed to their small and compacted genomes, high mutation rates and living in ever-changing environmental conditions. Given that genetic robustness might hamper possible beneficial mutations, it has been suggested that genetic robustness can only evolve as a side-effect of the evolution of robustness mechanisms specific to cope with environmental perturbations, a theory known as plastogenetic congruence. However, empirical evidences from different viral systems are contradictory. To test how adaptation to a particular environment affects both environmental and genetic robustness, we have used two strains of turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV) that differ in their degree of adaptation to Arabidopsis thaliana at a permissive temperature. We show that the highly adapted strain is strongly sensitive to the effect of random mutations and to changes in temperature conditions. In contrast, the non-adapted strain shows more robustness against both the accumulation of random mutations and drastic changes in temperature conditions. Together, these results are consistent with the predictions of the plastogenetic congruence theory, suggesting that genetic and environmental robustnesses may be two sides of the same coin for TuMV.

Preserving Integrity in the Face of Performance Threat

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 1455-1460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Legault ◽  
Timour Al-Khindi ◽  
Michael Inzlicht
Keyword(s):  
Error Detection ◽  
Error Monitoring ◽  
Error Related Negativity ◽  
Threatening Information ◽  
Electrophysiological Responses ◽  
The Face ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

Self-affirmation produces large effects: Even a simple reminder of one’s core values reduces defensiveness against threatening information. But how, exactly, does self-affirmation work? We explored this question by examining the impact of self-affirmation on neurophysiological responses to threatening events. We hypothesized that because self-affirmation increases openness to threat and enhances approachability of unfavorable feedback, it should augment attention and emotional receptivity to performance errors. We further hypothesized that this augmentation could be assessed directly, at the level of the brain. We measured self-affirmed and nonaffirmed participants’ electrophysiological responses to making errors on a task. As we anticipated, self-affirmation elicited greater error responsiveness than did nonaffirmation, as indexed by the error-related negativity, a neural signal of error monitoring. Self-affirmed participants also performed better on the task than did nonaffirmed participants. We offer novel brain evidence that self-affirmation increases openness to threat and discuss the role of error detection in the link between self-affirmation and performance.

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