title: 'Where' and 'what' in the whisker sensorimotor system.
abstract: In the visual system of primates, different neuronal pathways are specialized for processing information about the spatial coordinates of objects and their identity - that is, 'where' and 'what'. By contrast, rats and other nocturnal animals build up a neuronal representation of 'where' and 'what' by seeking out and palpating objects with their whiskers. We present recent evidence about how the brain constructs a representation of the surrounding world through whisker-mediated sense of touch. While considerable knowledge exists about the representation of the physical properties of stimuli - like texture, shape and position - we know little about how the brain represents their meaning. Future research may elucidate this and show how the transformation of one representation to another is achieved.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroscience Sector, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), 34014 Trieste, Italy. diamond@sissa.it
authors.forename: Mathew E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Heimendahl
authors.forename: Per Magne
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Knutsen
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kleinfeld
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ahissar
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D019416:Head Movements / Q000502:physiology; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*