The frequency response of rat vibrissae to sound.
The motion of isolated rat vibrissae due to low frequency sound has been modeled and measured with good agreement (within a factor of 2) between the data and the model's predictions. As had been done in previous studies on the response of rat vibrissae to tactile stimulation [Hartmann, M. J., Johnson, N. J., Towal, R. B., and Assad, C., J. Neurosci 23, 6510-6519 (2003) and Neimark, M. A., Andermann, A. L., Hopfield, J. J., and Moore, C. I., J. Neurosci 23, 6449-6509 (2003)] the vibrissae were modeled as thin conical beams. The force of the vibrating air on a vibrissa was modeled using the exact solution for a vibrating infinite cylinder in linear fluid. A finite element method was used to model the motion of a single vibrissa fixed at its base, using the aforementioned fluid force. Values for Young's modulus and vibrissa mass density were taken from a previous study [Neimark et al. (above)]. The model had no freely fitted parameters. Motion of isolated vibrissae was measured using a video camera with microscope. The sound stimulation was created using a stereo speaker connected to a signal generator. The tuning was found to be sharp, with quality factors that varied between 3 and 7, much sharper than the motion of cricket cercal hairs or in vitro inner ear hair bundles.
Shatz
Lisa F
LF
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Suffolk University, 41 Temple St. Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. lshatz@suffolk.edu
Christensen
Craig W
CW
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D008954:Models, Biological; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009991:Oscillometry; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013016:Sound; D014732:Vibration; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000502:physiology*