Texture discrimination and multi-unit recording in the rat vibrissal nerve

Abstract

Background: Rats distinguish objects differing in surface texture by actively moving their vibrissae. In this paper we characterized some aspects of texture sensing in anesthetized rats during active touch. We analyzed the multifiber discharge from a deep vibrissal nerve when the vibrissa sweeps materials (wood, metal, acrylic, sandpaper) having different textures. We polished these surfaces with sandpaper (P1000) to obtain close degrees of roughness and we induced vibrissal movement with two-branch facial nerve stimulation. We also consider the change in pressure against the vibrissa as a way to improve the tactile information acquisition. The signals were compared with a reference signal (control) -vibrissa sweeping the air -and were analyzed with the Root Mean Square (RMS) and the Power Spectrum Density (PSD).

Electrophysiological characterization of texture information slip-resistance dependent in the rat vibrissal nerve

“…The experimental protocol used in this paper has been previously described in detail by Albarracín et al [9]. The procedures are briefly described below.…”

The mathematical whisker: A review of numerical models of the rat׳s vibrissa biomechanics

“…The whiskers are often actively swept back and forth at high speeds (5-25 times/s) (Prescott et al, 2009). The animal coordinates head, nose and vibrissae movements and uses this exploratory behavior to gather information about object features in the environment such as location, shape, texture and size (Albarracín et al, 2006;Boubenec et al, 2012;Vincent, 1912).…”

“…In the rat, it consists of five horizontal and one vertical lines (caudal to the horizontal rows) on both sides of the snout, which makes about 30 macro-vibrissae ( Fig. 1A) (Albarracín et al, 2006).…”

Time–frequency analysis of neuronal populations with instantaneous resolution based on noise-assisted multivariate empirical mode decomposition

“…Deep vibrissal nerve recordings were obtained from five male Wistar adult rats weighing 300-350 g. Surgical anesthesia was induced by urethane (1.5 g/kg) and temperature was maintained at 37° by a servo-controlled heating pad. Surgery and experimental protocol have been previously described in detail by Albarracín et al, 2006. The procedures are briefly described below.…”