Sachdev Robert N S, Berg Rune W, Champney Gregory, Kleinfeld David, Ebner Ford F
Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
Somatosens Mot Res. 2003;20(2):163-9. doi: 10.1080/08990220311000405208.
Electromyographic recordings from the mystacial pad of rats were used to assess the effect of unilateral vibrissa contact on the bilateral movement of the vibrissae. A first group of animals was trained to whisk freely in air and served to establish the baseline variability in bilateral symmetry. We observed that the electromyogram (EMG) activity across the two mystacial pads was rhythmic and synchronous to within 2 ms on a whisk-by-whisk basis; this value is small in comparison with the approximately 50 ms required for protraction during the whisk cycle. A second group of animals was trained to use their vibrissae to contact a sensor that was located on one side of the head. The average EMG activity across the two pads was synchronous at the time of vibrissa contact, albeit with higher variability than for the case of free whisking. In contrast, the average amplitude of the activity on the contact vs noncontact side of the face was transiently greater, by 25% or approximately 10 degrees, at the time of contact. These data show that the amplitude of the vibrissae on the two sides of the face can be controlled independently, while the timing of vibrissa movement is largely synchronous.
通过记录大鼠触须垫的肌电图来评估单侧触须接触对双侧触须运动的影响。第一组动物被训练在空气中自由摆动触须，用于建立双侧对称性的基线变异性。我们观察到，在逐次摆动的基础上，两个触须垫的肌电图（EMG）活动具有节律性且同步性在2毫秒以内；与触须周期中伸出所需的约50毫秒相比，这个值很小。第二组动物被训练用触须接触位于头部一侧的传感器。在触须接触时，两个触须垫的平均EMG活动是同步的，尽管其变异性比自由摆动时更高。相比之下，在接触时，面部接触侧与非接触侧活动的平均幅度会短暂增大25%或约10度。这些数据表明，面部两侧触须的幅度可以独立控制，而触须运动的时间在很大程度上是同步的。
