One whisker whisking: unit recording during conditioned whisking in rats

@article{Bermejo2004OneWW,
  title={One whisker whisking: unit recording during conditioned whisking in rats},
  author={Roberto Bermejo and Marcin Szwed and Wendy A. Friedman and Ehud Ahissar and H. Philip Zeigler},
  journal={Somatosensory \& Motor Research},
  year={2004},
  volume={21},
  pages={183 - 187}
}
Understanding of the functional neurobiology of the rodent whisker system would be advanced by neurobehavioral studies in awake, behaving animals that combine unit recording from structures at various levels of the system with quantitative characterization of the kinematics and temporal organization of whisking. Such studies require the solution of a number of methodological problems. These include: chronic recording procedures ensuring unit isolation, stability and maximum yield, monitoring… 
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23 Citations
Background Citations
7
Methods Citations
4

23 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Psychophysical Channels and the Physiology of Perception in the Rat Whisker System
TLDR
A head-fixed, behaving rat preparation that allows to measure detectability of a single whisker deflection as a function of amplitude and velocity is described, suggesting a ”lower envelope” model of detection, in which perception of a faint stimulus is mediated by the most sensitive neurons available rather than average neuronal activity.
The Head-fixed Behaving Rat—Procedures and Pitfalls
TLDR
It is argued that head-fixed rodent models, by allowing the combination of methodologies from molecular manipulations, intracellular electrophysiology, and imaging to behavioral measurements, will be instrumental in combining insights into the functional neuronal organization at different levels of observation.
Neural coding and contextual influences in the whisker system
TLDR
The issue of neural coding in the context of the rodent whiskers, an increasingly popular model system, is reviewed, finding that many neurons in the subcortical whisker pathway are remarkably reliable and, by virtue of spike timing with millisecond-precision, have high bandwidth for conveying sensory information.
Reinforcing operandum: rapid and reliable learning of skilled forelimb movements by head-fixed rodents.
TLDR
With this device, head-fixed rats reliably learned to perform a pull manipulation of the spout-lever with their right forelimb in response to an auditory cue signal (external-trigger trial, namely, Go trial) within several days, and the usefulness of spoutslever manipulation for behavioral experiments employing cutting-edge physiological techniques is verified.
Development of stereotaxic recording system for awake marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)
Using hardware models to quantify sensory data acquisition across the rat vibrissal array.
TLDR
The aim is to quantitatively describe the spatiotemporal structure of incoming sensory information to place constraints on subsequent neural encoding and processing in animals to understand the neural computations that permit complex sensorimotor behaviors.
RIVETS: A Mechanical System for In Vivo and In Vitro Electrophysiology and Imaging
TLDR
The development of a flexible single hardware design for electrophysiology and imaging both in brain tissue in vitro and in vivo and the use of rapid prototyping machines (“3D printers”) allows for the deployment of new designs within a day.
A novel videographic method for quantitatively tracking vibrissal motor recovery following facial nerve injuries in rats
A bundled microwire array for long-term chronic single-unit recording in deep brain regions of behaving rats
Active Touch and Self-Motion Encoding by Merkel Cell-Associated Afferents
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