Neuron
Volume 90, Issue 2, 20 April 2016, Pages 374-387
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Article
Inhibition, Not Excitation, Drives Rhythmic Whisking

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2016.03.007Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Sniffing and whisking oscillators drive different pools of facial motoneurons

  • Rhythmic whisking is driven by glycinergic/GABAergic premotor neurons

  • Bilateral synchrony of whisking relies on the respiratory rhythm

Summary

Sniffing and whisking typify the exploratory behavior of rodents. These actions involve separate oscillators in the medulla, located respectively in the pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötC) and the vibrissa-related region of the intermediate reticular formation (vIRt). We examine how these oscillators synergize to control sniffing and whisking. We find that the vIRt contains glycinergic/GABAergic cells that rhythmically inhibit vibrissa facial motoneurons. As a basis for the entrainment of whisking by breathing, but not vice versa, we provide evidence for unidirectional connections from the preBötC to the vIRt. The preBötC further contributes to the control of the mystacial pad. Lastly, we show that bilateral synchrony of whisking relies on the respiratory rhythm, consistent with commissural connections between preBötC cells. These data yield a putative circuit in which the preBötC acts as a master clock for the synchronization of vibrissa, pad, and snout movements, as well as for the bilateral synchronization of whisking.

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