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Retracted

Whisker Dynamics Underlying Tactile Exploration

S. Andrew Hires, Alexander L. Efros and Karel Svoboda
Journal of Neuroscience 5 June 2013, 33 (23) 9576-9591; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5846-12.2013
S. Andrew Hires
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia 20147, and
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Alexander L. Efros
2Center for Computational Material Science, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375
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Karel Svoboda
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia 20147, and
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This article has been retracted. Please see:

  • Retraction: Hires et al, Whisker Dynamics Underlying Tactile Exploration - September 11, 2013

Abstract

Rodents explore the world by palpating objects with their whiskers. Whiskers interact with objects, causing stresses in whisker follicles and spikes in sensory neurons, which are interpreted by the brain to produce tactile perception. The mechanics of the whisker thus couple self-movement and the structure of the world to sensation. Whiskers are elastic thin rods; hence, they tend to vibrate. Whisker vibrations could be a key ingredient of rodent somatosensation. However, the specific conditions under which vibrations contribute appreciably to the stresses in the follicle remain unclear. We present an analytical solution for the deformation of individual whiskers in response to a time-varying force. We tracked the deformation of mouse whiskers during a pole localization task to extract the whisker Young's modulus and damping coefficient. We further extracted the time course and amplitude of steady-state forces during whisker–object contact. We use our model to calculate the relative contribution of steady-state and vibrational forces to stresses in the follicle in a variety of active sensation tasks and during the passive whisker stimuli typically used for sensory physiology. Vibrational stresses are relatively more prominent compared with steady-state forces for short contacts and for contacts close to the whisker tip. Vibrational stresses are large for texture discrimination, and under some conditions, object localization tasks. Vibrational stresses are negligible for typical ramp-and-hold stimuli. Our calculation provides a general framework, applicable to most experimental situations.

Footnotes

  • Correspondence should be addressed to either of the following: Dr. S. Andrew Hires, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, hiresa{at}janelia.hhmi.org; or Dr. Alexander Efros, Center for Computational Material Science, Code 6390, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, efros{at}nrl.navy.mil
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The Journal of Neuroscience: 33 (23)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 33, Issue 23
5 Jun 2013
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Whisker Dynamics Underlying Tactile Exploration
S. Andrew Hires, Alexander L. Efros, Karel Svoboda
Journal of Neuroscience 5 June 2013, 33 (23) 9576-9591; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5846-12.2013

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Whisker Dynamics Underlying Tactile Exploration
S. Andrew Hires, Alexander L. Efros, Karel Svoboda
Journal of Neuroscience 5 June 2013, 33 (23) 9576-9591; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5846-12.2013
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