Tactile experience determines the organization of movement representations in rat motor cortex.

We mapped movement representations in motor cortex of rats that had their mystacial vibrissae (whiskers) clipped continually for various periods during their development. In animals clipped since birth, and in adult animals clipped for 5 days, there was a significant reduction in the ratio of whisker to forelimb representation areas. Allowing the whiskers to regrow for at least 72 h resulted in normal-appearing representation patterns. The plasticity of motor representations induced by whisker clipping, and that following whisker regrowth, were not age dependent. These findings indicate that a relatively innocuous procedure that restricts sensory and motor functions results in pronounced, and reversible, changes in the functional organization of the motor cortex.