Circuits in the Ventral Medulla That Phase-Lock Motoneurons for Coordinated Sniffing and Whisking.
The exploratory behavior of rodents is characterized by stereotypical movements of the vibrissae, nose, and head, which are phase locked with rapid respiration, that is, sniffing. Here we review the brainstem circuitry that coordinates these actions and propose that respiration may act as a master clock for binding orofacial inputs across different sensory modalities.
Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Laval University, Québec City, QC, Canada G1J 2R3.
Martin
M
Deschênes
Section of Neurobiology, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
Anastasia
A
Kurnikova
Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Laval University, Québec City, QC, Canada G1J 2R3.
Michael
M
Elbaz
Section of Neurobiology, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA; Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA.
David
D
Kleinfeld
D000818:Animals; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000502:physiology*; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009666:Nose / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000502:physiology*