Response to: Ritt et al., “Embodied Information Processing: Vibrissa Mechanics and Texture Features Shape Micromotions in Actively Sensing Rats.” Neuron 57, 599–613

The whisker tactile system of rats presents a unique opportunity for investigating how sensory receptors generate signals through their interaction with the environment and how the brain makes sense of the afferent signals. Along with olfaction, whisker touch represents the major channel through which rodents collect information from the nearby environment. Whisker touch signals arise through an active process called “whisking,” a sweeping motion of the whiskers forward and backward to encounter objects and palpate them (Kleinfeld et al., 2006).