File:TactileNMRfig4.jpg

Figure 4: Data from behavioral experiments investigating neuronal population coding strategies in the tactile orienting response of naked mole-rats. Two vibrissa were stimulated either individually or simultaneously and the schematic shows the approximate location of the vibrissae tested [red arrowheads] on a gray drawing of an animal. Circular histograms display the distribution of turns elicited by each stimulus condition [blue bars] and the mean turn vector [red arrow] is also shown. Panel A shows orienting turns produced when deflecting sensory hairs in unilateral rostral and caudal regions. Simultaneous deflection produces an intermediate response indicative of a neuronal averaging computation. Panel B shows orienting turns elicited by stimulating sensory hairs bilaterally in the rostral plane. Simultaneous deflection produces a turn towards one side or the other, indicative of a winner-take-all neuronal computational strategy. Figure adapted from Crish et al. Neuroscience, 139(4): 1461-6. Copyright 2006 with permission of Elsevier.