RESUMEN
Visualization and tracking of the facial whiskers is critical to many studies of rodent behavior. High-speed videography is the most robust methodology for characterizing whisker kinematics, but whisker visualization is challenging due to the low contrast of the whisker against its background. Recently, we showed that fluorescent dye(s) can be applied to enhance visualization and tracking of whisker(s) ( Rigosa et al., 2017 ), and this protocol provides additional details on the technique.
RESUMEN
Visualization and tracking of the facial whiskers is required in an increasing number of rodent studies. Although many approaches have been employed, only high-speed videography has proven adequate for measuring whisker motion and deformation during interaction with an object. However, whisker visualization and tracking is challenging for multiple reasons, primary among them the low contrast of the whisker against its background. Here, we demonstrate a fluorescent dye method suitable for visualization of one or more rat whiskers. The process makes the dyed whisker(s) easily visible against a dark background. The coloring does not influence the behavioral performance of rats trained on a vibrissal vibrotactile discrimination task, nor does it affect the whiskers' mechanical properties.