McGovern Institute's Christopher Moore Determines that Rats `Hear' Sensory Input With Their Whiskers Using a Newly-Discovered Sensory Map in the Brain.

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 2004

- Principal Investigator Moore Authors Paper Published in Neuron Magazine -

- Discovery First of Its Kind in Mammals; Rats' Harp-Like Whiskers Transform Touch Sensations Just as the Ear Translates Sound -

The McGovern Institute at MIT, a leading research and teaching institute committed to advancing understanding of the human mind and communications, announced today that Christopher Moore, one of its Principal Investigators has authored a paper published in the current issue of Neuron Magazine that outlines the discovery of a new sensory map in a mammalian brain. Moore likened the findings to the discovery of sonar in bats that has led the development of technology that guides aircraft and tracks weather patterns.

Rats and mice are the most important and widespread model system for scientific studies, and the facial whiskers are essential to rodent perception--trimming the whiskers will lead, for example, to difficulty swimming if they are placed in water. "Neural Correlates of Vibrissa Resonance: Band-Pass and Somatotopic Representation of High-Frequency Stimuli" reveals that rat whiskers act like strings on a harp--they vibrate when they are 'plucked' by sensory stimuli. Like a harp or piano string, or like the cochlea of the inner ear, whiskers tend to vibrate best at specific frequencies, selectively pulling this vibratory information from the environment. This newly discovered property lead to the further discovery of a new map of timing in the brain, overlapping the region where researchers once only believed a map of space existed. By uniquely representing frequency information, this new map in the brain may also allow rats to 'hear' with their vibrissae, or to sense subtle changes in wind currents related to, for example, an oncoming cat or an owl flapping its wings as it hunts the animal.

While extremely complex, the implications of this work suggest important points:

-- A rat's whiskers actually work in similar fashion to a harp;

-- The discovery of a new map in mammalian brains;

-- Identifies an interesting convergence of evolution, as it

appears that the ear and the vibrissae may have evolved to

solve similar problems in a parallel fashion;

-- Raises consideration that mammals may collect information from

vibrations, sound waves and environmental changes by senses

other than sight, touch and hearing; and

-- These findings may eventually assist in developing advanced

sensory technologies in sensory assistance devices, for

example, these findings in the whisker suggest avenues for

more optimal construction of blind person's canes and sensors

for the navigation of dark underwater environments.

If you would like to discuss Dr. Moore's findings and the paper, co-authored with Mark L. Andermann, Jason Ritt and Maria A. Neimark, please contact Derek Beckwith or Lyn Chamberlin at 978-443-0400.

About the McGovern Institute at MIT

The McGovern Institute at MIT is a research and teaching institute committed to advancing human understanding and communications. The goal of the McGovern Institute is to investigate and ultimately understand the biological basis of all higher brain function in humans. The McGovern Institute conducts integrated research in neuroscience, genetic and cellular neurobiology, cognitive science, computation, and related areas.

By determining how the brain works, from the level of gene expression in individual neurons to the interrelationships between complex neural networks, the McGovern Institute's efforts work to improve human health, discover the basis of learning and recognition, and enhance education and communication. The McGovern Institute contributes to the most basic knowledge of the fundamental mysteries of human awareness, decisions, and actions.

For additional information, please go to http://web.mit.edu/mcgovern

About Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is an Investigator at the McGovern Institute and an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Moore works on understanding the neural mechanisms of tactile perception. His work focuses on the context-dependent representation of information in somatosensory cortex, and tactile motion processing. To investigate these questions, he employs electrophysiological and imaging (optical imaging and fMRI) approaches in humans and animal model systems.

Moore earned his doctorate in Brain and Cognitive Science at MIT, and conducted his postdoctoral work at The Martinos Center and UCSF. He joined the McGovern Institute in 2003 as both an Assistant Professor of Systems Neuroscience and a McGovern Investigator. Moore, who has published more than 20 studies and abstracts in peer review, is a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the Cognitive Neuroscience Society.