Whisker Movements Reveal Spatial Attention: A Unified Computational Model of Active Sensing Control in the Rat
Figure 2
Solid arrows indicate causal influences. Multiple influences affect the attended spatial region. One key influence will be whisker-environment contact (‘tactile signal’); others will include data from other sensory modalities and endogenous influences (‘other signals’). The ‘attended region’ drives both ‘whisker movement’ (rapidly and consistently) and ‘head movement’ (on a longer timescale, and only when this is not precluded by local geometry). Dotted lines show relationships that have been observed in animals. CIA is a correlation between contact and asymmetry in whisker movement. HTA is a correlation between turning of the head and asymmetry in whisker movement.