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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 23, 2003, 23(16):6499-6509
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Vibrissa Resonance as a Transduction Mechanism for Tactile Encoding
Maria A. Neimark,1 *
Mark L. Andermann,1,2 *
John J. Hopfield,3 and
Christopher I. Moore4
1Program in Biophysics, Harvard University,
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, 2Martinos Center,
Massachusetts General Hospital-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Charlestown,
Massachusetts 02129, 3Department of Molecular Biology,
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, and
4McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department
of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
We present evidence that resonance properties of rat vibrissae
differentially amplify high-frequency and complex tactile signals. Consistent
with a model of vibrissa mechanics, optical measurements of vibrissae revealed
that their first mechanical resonance frequencies systematically varied from
low (60-100 Hz) in longer, posterior vibrissae to high ( 750 Hz) in
shorter, anterior vibrissae. Resonance amplification of tactile input was
observed in vivo and ex vivo, and in a variety of boundary
conditions that are likely to occur during perception, including stimulation
of the vibrissa with moving complex natural stimuli such as sandpaper.
Vibrissae were underdamped, allowing for sharp tuning to resonance
frequencies. Vibrissa resonance constitutes a potentially useful mechanism for
perception of high-frequency and complex tactile signals. Amplification of
small amplitude signals by resonance could facilitate detection of stimuli
that would otherwise fail to drive neural activity. The systematic map of
frequency sensitivity across the face could facilitate texture discrimination
through somatotopic encoding of frequency content. These findings suggest
strong parallels between vibrissa tactile processing and auditory encoding, in
which the cochlea also uses resonance to amplify low-amplitude signals and to
generate a spatial map of frequency sensitivity.
Key words: vibrissa; whisker; somatosensory; resonance; rat; frequency
Received Mar 14, 2003;
revised May 12, 2003;
accepted May 13, 2003.
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