Functional role of airflow-sensing hairs on the bat wing

• Published in: Journal of neurophysiology Vol. 117; no. 2; pp. 705 - 712
• Main Authors: Sterbing-D'Angelo, S J, Chadha, M, Marshall, K L, Moss, C F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physiological Society 01.02.2017
• Series: Sensory Processing
• Subjects: Action Potentials - physiology; Animals; Chiroptera - physiology; Flight, Animal - physiology; Hair - physiology; Hair - ultrastructure; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Physical Stimulation; Sensory Receptor Cells - physiology; Sensory Receptor Cells - ultrastructure; Somatosensory Cortex - cytology; Touch; Touch Perception - physiology; Wings, Animal - physiology; Wings, Animal - ultrastructure; somatosensory cortex; bat; electrophysiology; wing; tactile sensing

The wing membrane of the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) is covered by a sparse grid of microscopic hairs. We showed previously that various tactile receptors (e.g., lanceolate endings and Merkel cell neurite complexes) are associated with wing-hair follicles. Furthermore, we found that depilation...