Recostruction of the orienting turn of a naked mole rat to a tactile stimulus. Position of
stimulus on body shown by blue arrowhead. Animal's initial position is outlined in gray,
position of body axis on subsequent frames (as numbered) are shown in black and final
position is outlined in red. Summary of the trial (with turn amplitude) is shown to right.
| 4) TACTILE SENSORY
SYSTEMS FOR GUIDING THE DIRECTED MOVEMENTS OF MAMMALS. Naked mole-rats are subterranean rodents that happen also to be eusocial. They are n aturally blind, and so navigate through their three-dimensional world of underground tunnels and chambers (and other mole rats) using non-visual sensory cues. Recently established colonies of naked mole rats at UIC have provided us with the chance to examine their touch-sensory system. We have found that naked mole rats have a readily accessible somatic touch system and that it triggers well-defined orienting behaviors. -- This project is being pursued in collaboration with the Lab of Dr. Thom Park (UIC). Dalia Samaan is primarily responsible for the contributions from our laboratory.
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A sample of recent publications:
Crish, S., Rice, F.L., Park, T. and Comer, C.M. (2003) Somatosensory organization and behavior in Naked Mole-Rats I: Vibrissa-like body hairs comprise a sensory array that mediates orientation to tactile stimuli. Brain Behav. Evol. 62:141-151. Park, T., Comer, C.M., Carol, A., Lu, Y. Hong, H.-S. Rice, F.L. (2003) Somatosensory organization and behavior in naked mole-rats II: peripheral structures, innervation, and selective lack of neuropeptides associated with thermoregulation and pain. J. Comp. Neurol. 465:104-120. Baig-Siva, M.S., Qtaishat, N.M., Pepperberg, D.R., Pardue, M.T., Comer, C.M.,Park, T.J., and Hetling, J.R. (2004) The visual system of the naked mole-rat Heterocephalus glaber. J. Comp. Physiol., in press. | ||
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