AI Article Synopsis
- The rodent whisker system is a useful model for studying how experience affects changes in brain structure, neural connections, and behavior.
- Unilateral whisker denervation alters whisker circuits but does not significantly change how adult mice navigate open spaces or perform in object localization tasks, though it does affect their ability to cross gaps.
- Chronic whisker denervation results in heightened anxiety-like behaviors, which can be mitigated through training on a specific task involving gap crossing, suggesting that mice adapt their behavior when faced with sensory limitations.
Article Abstract
The rodent whisker system provides an excellent model to study experience dependent plasticity in neural morphology, circuitry, and behavior. Rodents use bilateral whisker sensation to gather information about their environment. Unilateral whisker denervation disrupts whisker circuitry but its impact on task specific behavior is largely unknown. Adult mice with unilateral whisker denervation display a preference to using the intact whisker set to inspect objects, but do not have altered open field navigation. An object localization task requiring only the intact whisker set did not detect any change in performance, but gap crossing was impaired after unilateral whisker denervation. Finally, chronic whisker denervation led to increased anxiety-like behavior which was rescued by training on the gap cross task. These findings indicate that mice use behavioral strategies to adapt to life with only one set of intact whiskers.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2025.115435 | DOI Listing |
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