New research shows that sniffing and whisking are indeed coordinated, and governed by an area of the brain within the ventral medulla, which controls breathing.
Rodents explore their environment with rhythmic whisker movements and sniffing, and the two movements are closely associated. The brain circuits underlying the coordination of these motions have been deconstructed in a new research, and the work identifies a brain area within the ventral medulla that drives both behaviours.
Researchers propose that ‘respiratory centres’ in this area act as a master clock for those behaviours that can interrupt breathing. Coordination by this breathing clock ensures that the rhythmic sniffing and whisking behaviours, which share muscle groups, do not confound each other, and that breathing rhythm is not interrupted.
