Tactile Attention in the Vibrissal System

Abstract

Attention is a rich research area concerning itself with many aspects of brain function and animal behaviour (even as far as consciousness). This article focuses on the most prosaic aspect of attention, however, that of overt orienting of sensory receptors to the location of an ‘attended stimulus’ in space. Whilst overt orienting of the eyes has been studied in great detail, orienting of the vibrissal array of rodents has only recently begun to be investigated, despite the importance of this organ as an experimental model to a wide variety of investigations. This article reviews current understanding of orienting in this organ and identifies major open questions.