A rapid whisker-based decision underlying skilled locomotion in mice.
Elife
; 102021 01 11.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33428566
ABSTRACT
Skilled motor behavior requires rapidly integrating external sensory input with information about internal state to decide which movements to make next. Using machine learning approaches for high-resolution kinematic analysis, we uncover the logic of a rapid decision underlying sensory-guided locomotion in mice. After detecting obstacles with their whiskers mice select distinct kinematic strategies depending on a whisker-derived estimate of obstacle location together with the position and velocity of their body. Although mice rely on whiskers for obstacle avoidance, lesions of primary whisker sensory cortex had minimal impact. While motor cortex manipulations affected the execution of the chosen strategy, the decision-making process remained largely intact. These results highlight the potential of machine learning for reductionist analysis of naturalistic behaviors and provide a case in which subcortical brain structures appear sufficient for mediating a relatively sophisticated sensorimotor decision.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Vibrissae
/
Decision Making
/
Locomotion
/
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Elife
Year:
2021
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States