Hierarchy of orofacial rhythms revealed through whisking and breathing

Jeffrey D. Moore, Martin Deschênes (), Takahiro Furuta, Daniel Huber, Matthew C. Smear, Maxime Demers and David Kleinfeld ()
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Jeffrey D. Moore: University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Martin Deschênes: Centre de Recherche Université Laval Robert- Giffard, 2601 de la Canardière, Québec City G1J 2G3, Canada
Takahiro Furuta: Building C Room 204, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Daniel Huber: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, Virginia 20147, USA
Matthew C. Smear: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, Virginia 20147, USA
Maxime Demers: Centre de Recherche Université Laval Robert- Giffard, 2601 de la Canardière, Québec City G1J 2G3, Canada
David Kleinfeld: University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA

Nature, 2013, vol. 497, issue 7448, 205-210

Abstract: Abstract Whisking and sniffing are predominant aspects of exploratory behaviour in rodents. Yet the neural mechanisms that generate and coordinate these and other orofacial motor patterns remain largely uncharacterized. Here we use anatomical, behavioural, electrophysiological and pharmacological tools to show that whisking and sniffing are coordinated by respiratory centres in the ventral medulla. We delineate a distinct region in the ventral medulla that provides rhythmic input to the facial motor neurons that drive protraction of the vibrissae. Neuronal output from this region is reset at each inspiration by direct input from the pre-Bötzinger complex, such that high-frequency sniffing has a one-to-one relationship with whisking, whereas basal respiration is accompanied by intervening whisks that occur between breaths. We conjecture that the respiratory nuclei, which project to other premotor regions for oral and facial control, function as a master clock for behaviours that coordinate with breathing.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/nature12076

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