Pattern generation in the rat vibrissa system: Behavioral evidence for a central pattern generator.
Item
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Title
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Pattern generation in the rat vibrissa system: Behavioral evidence for a central pattern generator.
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Identifier
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AAI3008828
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identifier
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3008828
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Creator
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Gao, Puhong.
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Contributor
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Adviser: H. Philip Zeigler
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Date
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2001
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Psychobiology
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Abstract
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Even in the absence of explicit stimulation, rats emit patterns of rhythmic whisking movements. Because of their stereotyped nature and their persistence after sensory denervation and cortical ablation, whisking movements have been assumed to reflect the output of a central pattern generator (CPG). However, identification of a movement pattern as the product of a CPG requires evidence that its generation, patterning and coordination are independent of sensory input. To provide such evidence we used optoelectronic instrumentation to obtain high resolution records of the movement trajectories of individual whiskers, in rats whose heads were fixed to isolate their exploratory whisking from ex-afferent inputs. Unconditioned whisking patterns were quantitatively characterized by a biometric analysis of the kinematics, rhythmicity and coordination of bilaterally homologous vibrissa movements. Unilateral and bilateral section of the infraorbital nerve, which innervates the whiskers, was then carried out to block reafferent inputs generated by the animals own whisking movements. Unilateral section of the nerve has no effect on whisking kinematics but is followed by a significant, but relatively transient bilateral increase in whisking frequency. However, bilateral deafferentation, when carried out in a single-stage procedure, does not disrupt either the generation, patterning or bilateral coordination of whisking patterns in the rat. The findings provide strong behavioral evidence for a whisking CPG, and are discussed in relation to its possible location and properties.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
