Pacinian corpuscle neurons are specialized low-threshold mechanoreceptors (LTMRs) that are tuned to detect high-frequency vibration (∼50–2,000 Hz); however, it is unclear how Pacinians and other LTMRs encode mechanical forces encountered during naturalistic behavior. Here, we developed methods to record LTMRs in awake, freely moving mice. We find that Pacinians, but not other LTMRs, encode subtle vibrations of surfaces encountered by the animal, including low-amplitude vibrations initiated over 2 m away. Strikingly, Pacinians are also highly active during a wide variety of natural behaviors, including walking, grooming, digging, and climbing. Pacinians in the hindlimb are sensitive enough to be activated by forelimb- or upper-body-dominant behaviors. Finally, we find that Pacinian LTMRs have diverse tuning and sensitivity. Our findings suggest a Pacinian population code for the representation of vibro-tactile features generated by self-initiated movements and low-amplitude environmental vibrations emanating from distant locations.

中文翻译：

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自由移动动物的 Pacinian 神经元对自身和环境的编码


Pacinian 小体神经元是专门的低阈值机械感受器 （LTMR），经过调整以检测高频振动 （∼50–2,000 Hz）;然而，目前尚不清楚 Pacinian 和其他 LTMR 如何编码自然行为中遇到的机械力。在这里，我们开发了在清醒、自由移动的小鼠中记录 LTMR 的方法。我们发现 Pacinians，而不是其他 LTMR，编码动物遇到的表面的细微振动，包括在 2 m 外开始的低振幅振动。引人注目的是，帕西尼人在各种自然行为中也非常活跃，包括行走、梳理、挖掘和攀爬。后肢的 Pacinian 足够敏感，可以被前肢或上半身主导的行为激活。最后，我们发现 Pacinian LTMR 具有不同的调谐和灵敏度。我们的研究结果表明，帕西尼亚种群代码用于表示由自发运动和从远处发出的低振幅环境振动产生的振动触觉特征。