Tactile cues compensate for unbalanced vestibular cues during progression on inclined surfaces.
Behav Processes
; 218: 105041, 2024 May.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38692460
ABSTRACT
A previous study demonstrated that rodents on an inclined square platform traveled straight vertically or horizontally and avoided diagonal travel. Through behavior they aligned their head with the horizontal plane, acquiring similar bilateral vestibular cues - a basic requirement for spatial orientation and a salient feature of animals in motion. This behavior had previously been shown to be conspicuous in Tristram's jirds. Here, therefore jirds were challenged by testing their travel behavior on a circular arena inclined at 0°-75°. Our hypothesis was that if, as typical to rodents, the jirds would follow the curved arena wall, they would need to display a compensating mechanism to enable traveling in such a path shape, which involves a tilted frontal head axis and unbalanced bilateral vestibular cues. We found that with the increase in inclination, the jirds remained more in the lower section of the arena (geotaxis). When tested on the steep inclinations, however, their travel away from the arena wall was strictly straight up or down, in contrast to the curved paths that followed the circular arena wall. We suggest that traveling along a circular path while maintaining contact with the wall (thigmotaxis), provided tactile information that compensated for the unbalanced bilateral vestibular cues present when traveling along such curved inclined paths. In the latter case, the frontal plane of the head was in a diagonal posture in relation to gravity, a posture that was avoided when traveling away from the wall.
Mots clés
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Labyrinthe vestibulaire
/
Signaux
/
Orientation spatiale
Limites:
Animals
Langue:
En
Journal:
Behav Processes
Année:
2024
Type de document:
Article
Pays de publication:
Pays-Bas