Vibrissa Self-Motion and Touch Are Reliably Encoded along the Same Somatosensory Pathway from Brainstem through Thalamus

Moore, Jeffrey D.; Lindsay, Nicole Mercer; Deschênes, Martin; Kleinfeld, David

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002253

Cited by 111 publications

(159 citation statements)

References 88 publications

(127 reference statements)

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“…No information from the encoder was used to determine where contact occurred along the whisker length. This choice was made to reflect the fact that rats have very few proprioceptors in the whisker muscles [26].…”

Section: H Acquiring Data During a Continuous Whisker Sweep Againstmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Whisker Sensor Used for 3D Contact Point Determination and Contour Extraction

Emnett¹,

Graff²,

Hartmann³

2018

Robotics: Science and Systems XIV

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Abstract-We developed a novel whisker-follicle sensor that measures three mechanical signals at the whisker base. The first two signals are closely related to the two bending moments, and the third is an approximation to the axial force. Previous simulation studies have shown that these three signals are sufficient to determine the three-dimensional (3D) location at which the whisker makes contact with an object. Here we demonstrate hardware implementation of 3D contact point determination and then use continuous sweeps of the whisker to show proof-of principle 3D contour extraction. We begin by using simulations to confirm the uniqueness of the mapping between the mechanical signals at the whisker base and the 3D contact point location for the specific dimensions of the hardware whisker. Multi-output random forest regression is then used to predict the contact point locations of objects based on observed mechanical signals. When calibrated to the simulated data, signals from the hardware whisker can correctly predict contact point locations to within 1.5 cm about 74% of the time. However, if normalized output voltages from the hardware whiskers are used to train the algorithm (without calibrating to simulation), predictions improve to within 1.5 cm for about 96% of contact points and to within 0.6 cm for about 78% of contact points. This improvement suggests that as long as three appropriate predictor signals are chosen, calibrating to simulations may not be required. The sensor was next used to perform contour extraction on a cylinder and a cone. We show that basic contour extraction can be obtained with just two sweeps of the sensor. With further sweeps, it is expected that full 3D shape reconstruction could be achieved.

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Section: H Acquiring Data During a Continuous Whisker Sweep Againstmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Whisker Sensor Used for 3D Contact Point Determination and Contour Extraction

Emnett¹,

Graff²,

Hartmann³

2018

Robotics: Science and Systems XIV

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“…It is often convenient to characterize vibrissa position in terms of phase in the whisk cycle as opposed to absolute angle (Curtis and Kleinfeld, 2009) (Figure 6A), as many neurons have a preferred phase for spiking (Figure 6B). In our dataset, we include records of spiking from seven neurons along the primary sensory pathway in thalamus along with vibrissa position as the rats whisked in air (Moore et al, 2015b) (Figure 6C); free whisking in air is a means to study the reafferent signal alone, as a touch-based sensory input must be decoded relative to the reafferent signal of vibrissa position (Kleinfeld and Deschênes, 2011). …”

Section: Nonparametric Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It consists of seven sets of spike arrival times, each recorded from a single unit in the vibrissa region of ventral posterior medial thalamus of awake, head-restrained rats (Moore et al, 2015b). The animals were motivated to whisk by the smell of their home cage.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This preparation has been a paradigmatic one in that many iterations of predictive modeling have been first successfully applied (Chichilnisky, 2001; Touryan et al, 2002; Rust et al, 2005; Pillow et al, 2008). The second and third set involve more challenging cases: the relationship between single unit recordings of thalamic neurons of alert, freely whisking rats and the recorded vibrissa self-generated motion (Moore et al, 2015b); and the relationship between unit recordings from motor cortex of monkeys and the recorded position and grip strength of the hand as monkeys use a joystick to manipulate a robotic arm (Engelhard et al, 2013). Considering data from behaving animals requires us to discuss several important issues, including smaller data size and the highly correlated and non-repeated external variables that are generated by natural stimulus statistics and self-motion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of Neuronal Spike Trains, Deconstructed

Aljadeff

Lansdell

Fairhall

et al. 2016

Neuron

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As information flows through the brain, neuronal firing progresses from encoding the world as sensed by the animal to driving the motor output of subsequent behavior. One of the more tractable goals of quantitative neuroscience is to develop predictive models that relate the sensory or motor streams with neuronal firing. Here we review and contrast analytical tools used to accomplish this task. We focus on classes of models in which the external variable is compared with one or more feature vectors to extract a low-dimensional representation, the history of spiking and other variables are potentially incorporated, and these factors are nonlinearly transformed to predict the occurrences of spikes. We illustrate these techniques in application to datasets of different degrees of complexity. In particular, we address the fitting of models in the presence of strong correlations in the external variable, as occurs in natural sensory stimuli and in movement. Spectral correlation between predicted and measured spike trains is introduced to contrast the relative success of different methods.

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“…Cutaneous mechanoreceptors provide the ability to process external stimuli by converting information about touch, pressure, vibration, and skin stretch into neural signals [17], while skin oscillations carry information about external stimuli and objects (i.e. slip detection, surface properties, and texture), including pain sensation to the thalamic nuclei pathways in the brain [53] [54] [55] [56]. This evidence supports the unified 3D default space consciousness model in that all sensory information received by the brain must first be integrated by the thalamus and processed by corticothalamic feedback…”

Section: Lateral Inhibition and The Integumentary Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory Consciousness is Experienced through Amplification of Sensory Stimuli via Lateral Inhibition

Jerath¹,

Cearley²,

Paladiya³

et al. 2017

WJNS

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At present, researchers are unclear about which activity within the brain is responsible for the emergence of consciousness-the subconscious or unconscious. Current literature suggests that consciousness is isolated in the brain; however, we suggest consciousness emerges from both-subconscious and unconscious activity, in addition to sensory consciousness. This article contends that sensory consciousness arises from neurophysiological brain activity, intrapersonal space, sensory information, and parallel processing of the external and internal environment through vision, olfaction, the integumentary system, gustation, and audition. Traditionally, lateral inhibition is defined as the ability for an excited neuron to laterally inhibit its neighbors, and is an integral part of neurophysiology in all senses. In this article, we are connecting the science behind the well-established physiological observations of gamma wave activity in the interneurons of peripheral receptors with what is currently unknown regarding the functional significance of seemingly unrelated gamma activity in the cortico-thalamic gamma oscillations. We suggest that this allows for instantaneous integration of the brain with sensory receptors. This article uses existing literature on lateral inhibition to investigate its role in sensory organs and various areas of the body. We explain how sensory consciousness is only one component of unified consciousness. We propose that lateral inhibition also plays a vital role in consciousness theory, and understanding this can help illustrate the dynamic interactions between the central and peripheral nervous systems within the body.

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Vibrissa Self-Motion and Touch Are Reliably Encoded along the Same Somatosensory Pathway from Brainstem through Thalamus

Cited by 111 publications

References 88 publications

A Novel Whisker Sensor Used for 3D Contact Point Determination and Contour Extraction

A Novel Whisker Sensor Used for 3D Contact Point Determination and Contour Extraction

Analysis of Neuronal Spike Trains, Deconstructed

Sensory Consciousness is Experienced through Amplification of Sensory Stimuli via Lateral Inhibition

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