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Brown J, Oldenburg IA, Telian GI, Griffin S, Voges M, Jain V, Adesnik H. Spatial integration during active tactile sensation drives orientation perception. Neuron 2021; 109:1707-1720.e7. [PMID: 33826906 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.03.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Active haptic sensation is critical for object identification, but its neural circuit basis is poorly understood. We combined optogenetics, two-photon imaging, and high-speed behavioral tracking in mice solving a whisker-based object orientation discrimination task. We found that orientation discrimination required animals to summate input from multiple whiskers specifically along the whisker arc. Animals discriminated the orientation of the stimulus per se as their performance was invariant to the location of the presented stimulus. Populations of barrel cortex neurons summated across whiskers to encode each orientation. Finally, acute optogenetic inactivation of the barrel cortex and cell-type-specific optogenetic suppression of layer 4 excitatory neurons degraded performance, implying that infragranular layers alone are not sufficient to solve the task. These data suggest that spatial summation over an active haptic array generates representations of an object's orientation, which may facilitate encoding of complex three-dimensional objects during active exploration.
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Parker PRL, Brown MA, Smear MC, Niell CM. Movement-Related Signals in Sensory Areas: Roles in Natural Behavior. Trends Neurosci 2020; 43:581-595. [PMID: 32580899 PMCID: PMC8000520 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2020.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Revised: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated prominent and widespread movement-related signals in the brain of head-fixed mice, even in primary sensory areas. However, it is still unknown what role these signals play in sensory processing. Why are these sensory areas 'contaminated' by movement signals? During natural behavior, animals actively acquire sensory information as they move through the environment and use this information to guide ongoing actions. In this context, movement-related signals could allow sensory systems to predict self-induced sensory changes and extract additional information about the environment. In this review we summarize recent findings on the presence of movement-related signals in sensory areas and discuss how their study, in the context of natural freely moving behaviors, could advance models of sensory processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip R L Parker
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
| | - Morgan A Brown
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Matthew C Smear
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Cristopher M Niell
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA; Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
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Isett BR, Feldman DE. Cortical Coding of Whisking Phase during Surface Whisking. Curr Biol 2020; 30:3065-3074.e5. [PMID: 32531284 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In rodent whisker sensation, whisker position signals, including whisking phase, are integrated with touch signals to enable spatially accurate tactile perception, but other functions of phase coding are unclear. We investigate how phase coding affects the neural coding of surface features during surface whisking. In mice performing rough-smooth discrimination, S1 units exhibit much stronger phase tuning during surface whisking than in prior studies of whisking in air. Among putative pyramidal cells, preferred phase tiles phase space, but protraction phases are strongly over-represented. Fast-spiking units are nearly all protraction tuned. This protraction bias increases the coding of stick-slip whisker events during protraction, suggesting that surface features are preferentially encoded during protraction. Correspondingly, protraction-tuned units encode rough-smooth texture better than retraction-tuned units and encode the precise spatial location of surface ridges with higher acuity. This suggests that protraction is the main information-gathering phase for high-resolution surface features, with phase coding organized to support this function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian R Isett
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Daniel E Feldman
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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Isett BR, Feasel SH, Lane MA, Feldman DE. Slip-Based Coding of Local Shape and Texture in Mouse S1. Neuron 2018; 97:418-433.e5. [PMID: 29307709 PMCID: PMC5773356 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2017] [Revised: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Tactile objects have both local geometry (shape) and broader macroscopic texture, but how these different spatial scales are simultaneously encoded during active touch is unknown. In the whisker system, we tested for a shared code based on localized whisker micromotions (stick-slips) and slip-evoked spikes. We trained mice to discriminate smooth from rough surfaces, including ridged gratings and sandpaper. Whisker slips locked to ridges and evoked temporally precise spikes (<10 ms jitter) in somatosensory cortex (S1) that could resolve ridges with ∼1 mm accuracy. Slip-sensitive neurons also encoded touch and texture. On rough surfaces, both slip-evoked spikes and an additional non-slip signal elevated mean firing rate, allowing accurate rough-smooth texture decoding from population firing rate. Eighteen percent of neurons were selective among rough surfaces. Thus, slips elicit spatially and temporally precise spiking in S1 that simultaneously encodes local shape (ridges) and is integrated into a macroscopic firing rate code for roughness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian R Isett
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Sierra H Feasel
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Monet A Lane
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Daniel E Feldman
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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5
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Pluta SR, Lyall EH, Telian GI, Ryapolova-Webb E, Adesnik H. Surround Integration Organizes a Spatial Map during Active Sensation. Neuron 2017; 94:1220-1233.e5. [PMID: 28504117 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.04.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Revised: 03/05/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
During active sensation, sensors scan space in order to generate a representation of the outside world. However, since spatial coding in sensory systems is typically addressed by measuring receptive fields in a fixed, sensor-based coordinate frame, the cortical representation of scanned space is poorly understood. To address this question, we probed spatial coding in the rodent whisker system using a combination of two-photon imaging and electrophysiology during active touch. We found that surround whiskers powerfully transform the cortical representation of scanned space. On the single-neuron level, surround input profoundly alters response amplitude and modulates spatial preference in the cortex. On the population level, surround input organizes the spatial preference of neurons into a continuous map of the space swept out by the whiskers. These data demonstrate how spatial summation over a moving sensor array is critical to generating population codes of sensory space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott R Pluta
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Evan H Lyall
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Greg I Telian
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Elena Ryapolova-Webb
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Hillel Adesnik
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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Severson KS, Xu D, Van de Loo M, Bai L, Ginty DD, O'Connor DH. Active Touch and Self-Motion Encoding by Merkel Cell-Associated Afferents. Neuron 2017; 94:666-676.e9. [PMID: 28434802 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.03.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2016] [Revised: 02/15/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Touch perception depends on integrating signals from multiple types of peripheral mechanoreceptors. Merkel-cell associated afferents are thought to play a major role in form perception by encoding surface features of touched objects. However, activity of Merkel afferents during active touch has not been directly measured. Here, we show that Merkel and unidentified slowly adapting afferents in the whisker system of behaving mice respond to both self-motion and active touch. Touch responses were dominated by sensitivity to bending moment (torque) at the base of the whisker and its rate of change and largely explained by a simple mechanical model. Self-motion responses encoded whisker position within a whisk cycle (phase), not absolute whisker angle, and arose from stresses reflecting whisker inertia and activity of specific muscles. Thus, Merkel afferents send to the brain multiplexed information about whisker position and surface features, suggesting that proprioception and touch converge at the earliest neural level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle S Severson
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Brain Science Institute, The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Neuroscience Training Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Duo Xu
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Brain Science Institute, The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Neuroscience Training Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Margaret Van de Loo
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Brain Science Institute, The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Ling Bai
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Neuroscience Training Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - David D Ginty
- Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Daniel H O'Connor
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Brain Science Institute, The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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Park S, Bandi A, Lee CR, Margolis DJ. Peripheral optogenetic stimulation induces whisker movement and sensory perception in head-fixed mice. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 27269285 PMCID: PMC4940159 DOI: 10.7554/elife.14140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2015] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We discovered that optical stimulation of the mystacial pad in Emx1-Cre;Ai27D transgenic mice induces whisker movements due to activation of ChR2 expressed in muscles controlling retraction and protraction. Using high-speed videography in anesthetized mice, we characterize the amplitude of whisker protractions evoked by varying the intensity, duration, and frequency of optogenetic stimulation. Recordings from primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in anesthetized mice indicated that optogenetic whisker pad stimulation evokes robust yet longer latency responses than mechanical whisker stimulation. In head-fixed mice trained to report optogenetic whisker pad stimulation, psychometric curves showed similar dependence on stimulus duration as evoked whisker movements and S1 activity. Furthermore, optogenetic stimulation of S1 in expert mice was sufficient to substitute for peripheral stimulation. We conclude that whisker protractions evoked by optogenetic activation of whisker pad muscles results in cortical activity and sensory perception, consistent with the coding of evoked whisker movements by reafferent sensory input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunmee Park
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, United States
| | - Akhil Bandi
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, United States
| | - Christian R Lee
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, United States
| | - David J Margolis
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, United States
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Campagner D, Evans MH, Bale MR, Erskine A, Petersen RS. Prediction of primary somatosensory neuron activity during active tactile exploration. eLife 2016; 5. [PMID: 26880559 PMCID: PMC4764568 DOI: 10.7554/elife.10696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2015] [Accepted: 01/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary sensory neurons form the interface between world and brain. Their function is well-understood during passive stimulation but, under natural behaving conditions, sense organs are under active, motor control. In an attempt to predict primary neuron firing under natural conditions of sensorimotor integration, we recorded from primary mechanosensory neurons of awake, head-fixed mice as they explored a pole with their whiskers, and simultaneously measured both whisker motion and forces with high-speed videography. Using Generalised Linear Models, we found that primary neuron responses were poorly predicted by whisker angle, but well-predicted by rotational forces acting on the whisker: both during touch and free-air whisker motion. These results are in apparent contrast to previous studies of passive stimulation, but could be reconciled by differences in the kinematics-force relationship between active and passive conditions. Thus, simple statistical models can predict rich neural activity elicited by natural, exploratory behaviour involving active movement of sense organs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dario Campagner
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Mathew Hywel Evans
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Ross Bale
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.,School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Erskine
- Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.,Mill Hill Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Rodent whisker sensation occurs both actively, as whiskers move rhythmically across objects, and in a passive mode in which externally applied deflections are sensed by static, non-moving whiskers. Passive whisker stimuli are robustly encoded in the somatosensory (S1) cortex, and provide a potentially powerful means of studying cortical processing. However, whether S1 contributes to passive sensation is debated. We developed 2 new behavioral tasks to assay passive whisker sensation in freely moving rats: Detection of unilateral whisker deflections and discrimination of right versus left whisker deflections. Stimuli were simple, simultaneous multi-whisker deflections. Local muscimol inactivation of S1 reversibly and robustly abolished sensory performance on these tasks. Thus, S1 is required for the detection and discrimination of simple stimuli by passive whiskers, in addition to its known role in active whisker sensation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshio Miyashita
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA
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