Whisker system brain signals: making 3D models to understand how touch is coded
Official title: Coding properties of Vibrissal-Responsive Trigeminal Ganglion Neurons
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11607993 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A project to build user-friendly 3D software that models how whisker movements in rodents are translated into neural signals in the trigeminal system, helping us understand tactile sensing.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2015 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $550,963 |
| NIH project number | 2R56NS093585-06A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11607993 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be researchers using rodent models to study tactile sensing and sensorimotor integration; no direct patient enrollment is required for software development.
✕Less likely to help
Patients will not be enrolled in this project, and there is no direct clinical treatment involved.
What this research studies
This project will create a new software platform that simulates how whisker movement and jaw/eye position affect the signals sent from the trigeminal ganglion to the brain. It will take video data from multiple cameras and estimate 3D head and whisker positions to interpret how primary sensory neurons respond to mechanical inputs. The goal is to link measurable whisker mechanics with neural activity, improving our understanding of active touch in mammals. The work combines biomechanics, neural data interpretation, and open-source tool development to benefit researchers and, in the long run, conditions involving sensory processing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the software could help researchers better understand how tactile information is encoded, potentially informing therapies for sensory processing and motor coordination disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Other neuroscience projects have used open or shared modeling tools to relate behavior to neural signals, though this will be a novel platform for rodent whisker systems.
Where this research is happening
-
Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hartmann, Mitra J — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Hartmann, Mitra J
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.