Primary sensory neurons of the rat whisker system encode contact with objects in terms of the forces exerted on whiskers, rather than the induced whisker movements.
Primary trigeminal neurons encode rotational forces in awake mice as they explore an object with their whiskers, allowing accurate prediction of spiking during behaviour.
Peripheral injury induces a programmed but reversible transformation of gene expression in somatosensory neurons providing a mechanism to regulate sensory input during wound healing.
The somatosensory cortex doesn't integrate mixed bilateral inputs, as partially uncrossing projections from the whiskers duplicates their representation by segregating lateralized inputs from each side of the head.
Glycolysis is locally enhanced and redirected in zebrafish to generate lactate, which functions as a signaling molecule to fully activate Fgf target genes required for proper sensory and neural development.
While the basal ganglia have long been thought to mediate learning through dopamine-dependent striatal plasticity, their regulation of motor thalamus plays an unexpected and critical role in reinforcement.