An elastic segment of the whisker shaft enables coding of the whisking phase via whisker torsion in rats and mice
Haidarliu S, Nelinger G, Gantar L, Ahissar E, Saraf‐Sinik I. 2026. An elastic segment of the whisker shaft enables coding of the whisking phase via whisker torsion in rats and mice. The Anatomical Record. 309(7), 1910–1924.
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Author
Haidarliu, Sebastian;
Nelinger, Guy;
Gantar, LukaISTA;
Ahissar, Ehud;
Saraf‐Sinik, Inbar
Department
Abstract
Rodents' ability to encode the whisking phase has been extensively documented through neuronal recordings from ascending sensory pathways. Yet, while indicating that reafference originates from the mechanoreceptors, the mechanistic underpinnings of the whisking phase encoding within the follicle remain unclear. Here we present anatomical, histological, and biomechanical evidence for the presence of a distinctive elastic segment (ES) within the basal part of the whisker shaft inside the follicle. This ES, composed of immature keratin, is capable of both bending and twisting. Forces generated by whisker movement deform this segment, causing whisker shaft deflections that can stimulate specific mechanoreceptor subsets within the follicle at different phases of the whisking cycle. This mechanism appears to operate during both free‐air whisking and object contact. We propose that the ES enables torsion‐based mechanoreceptor activation, allowing encoding of the whisking phase.
Publishing Year
Date Published
2026-07-01
Journal Title
The Anatomical Record
Publisher
Wiley
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to express their gratitude to Prof. Menahem Segal and Dr. Yonatan Katz for their helpful comments and discussions. The United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF, grant no. 2021327); The European Research Council (ERC) under the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant no. 786949); the Israel Science Foundation (ISF, grant no. 2237/20); The Weizmann-UK Collaboration and a research grant from the Estate of Thomas Gruen.
Volume
309
Issue
7
Page
1910-1924
ISSN
eISSN
IST-REx-ID
Cite this
Haidarliu S, Nelinger G, Gantar L, Ahissar E, Saraf‐Sinik I. An elastic segment of the whisker shaft enables coding of the whisking phase via whisker torsion in rats and mice. The Anatomical Record. 2026;309(7):1910-1924. doi:10.1002/ar.70051
Haidarliu, S., Nelinger, G., Gantar, L., Ahissar, E., & Saraf‐Sinik, I. (2026). An elastic segment of the whisker shaft enables coding of the whisking phase via whisker torsion in rats and mice. The Anatomical Record. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.70051
Haidarliu, Sebastian, Guy Nelinger, Luka Gantar, Ehud Ahissar, and Inbar Saraf‐Sinik. “An Elastic Segment of the Whisker Shaft Enables Coding of the Whisking Phase via Whisker Torsion in Rats and Mice.” The Anatomical Record. Wiley, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.70051.
S. Haidarliu, G. Nelinger, L. Gantar, E. Ahissar, and I. Saraf‐Sinik, “An elastic segment of the whisker shaft enables coding of the whisking phase via whisker torsion in rats and mice,” The Anatomical Record, vol. 309, no. 7. Wiley, pp. 1910–1924, 2026.
Haidarliu S, Nelinger G, Gantar L, Ahissar E, Saraf‐Sinik I. 2026. An elastic segment of the whisker shaft enables coding of the whisking phase via whisker torsion in rats and mice. The Anatomical Record. 309(7), 1910–1924.
Haidarliu, Sebastian, et al. “An Elastic Segment of the Whisker Shaft Enables Coding of the Whisking Phase via Whisker Torsion in Rats and Mice.” The Anatomical Record, vol. 309, no. 7, Wiley, 2026, pp. 1910–24, doi:10.1002/ar.70051.
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