A change in behavioral state switches the pattern of motor output that underlies rhythmic head and orofacial movements

Dynamics of odor-source localization: Insights from real-time odor plume recordings and head-motion tracking in freely moving mice

“…Since the X-axis is aligned with the direction of gravity, this channel was the most useful for studying the up and down (pitch) motions of the mouse head. It was readily apparent that the pitch motion had many frequency components embedded in the signal, as previously reported [18,19,27]. We therefore aligned the jerk signals with respect to the onset of plume encounters shown in Figure 2C, and conducted time-frequency analysis using the CWT of the jerk signal as shown in Figure 2D.…”

“…We therefore aligned the jerk signals with respect to the onset of plume encounters shown in Figure 2C, and conducted time-frequency analysis using the CWT of the jerk signal as shown in Figure 2D. The dominant frequency band was found to be in the 5-14 Hz range, the frequency band correlated with active exploration in freely moving rodents [19,29]. Interestingly, this frequency band was also prominent during the non-plume encounter portions as seen in the randomly selected trajectories (middle panels; Figures 2C-E).…”

“…Like Findley et al [18], and Liao and Kleinfeld [19] we establish head motions as a critical component of the mouse natural behavioral repertoire. We extend upon these findings by demonstrating that plume encounters in a turbulent setting modulate these head motions.…”

“…The data from all the animal trials were then pooled and a three Gaussian model was then fit to the distribution as shown in Figure 3A using a Gaussian Mixture Model algorithm (MathWorks File Exchange; Matthew Roughan Commit Date: 2007). This analysis was based on the work of Liao and Kleinfeld [19]. To determine the dominant frequency of head-pitch motions, the band with the highest power within the active search (5-14 Hz) was used.…”

“…However, the plume encounter-dependent changes in rodent head motions were not established in their study. In addition, Liao and Kleinfeld [19] have shown alterations in behavioral states of freely moving rats engaged in an exploratory behavior. They, along with Findley et al [18], have also established important correlations between rodents’ sniffing and their head motions.…”