Information-theory analysis of mouse string-pulling agrees with Fitts's Law: Increasing task difficulty engages multiple sensorimotor modalities in a dual oscillator behavior.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-5-2024

Keywords

JMG, Mice, Animals, Cognition, Movement, Learning, Upper Extremity, Hand, Psychomotor Performance

JAX Source

Behav Brain Res. 2024;456:114705.

ISSN

1872-7549

PMID

37838246

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114705

Grant

This work was supported by the Natural Sci- ences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (grant# 40352), Alberta Innovates, Alberta Prion Research Institute (grant 43568) and Canadian Institute for Health Research (grant 390930).

Abstract

Mouse string pulling, in which a mouse reels in a string with hand-over-hand movements, can provide insights into skilled motor behavior, neurological status, and cognitive function. The task involves two oscillatory movements connected by a string. The snout oscillates to track the pendulum movement of the string produced by hand-over-hand oscillations of pulling, and so the snout guides the hands to grasp the string. The present study examines the allocation of time required to pull strings of varying diameter. Movement is also described with end-point measures, string-pulling topography with 2D markerless pose estimates based on transfer learning with deep neural networks, and Mat-lab image-segmentation and heuristic algorithms for object tracking. With reduced string diameter, mice took longer to pull 60 cm long strings. They also made more pulling cycles, misses, and mouth engagements, and displayed changes in the amplitude and frequency of pull cycles. The time measures agree with Fitts's law in showing that increased task difficulty slows behavior and engages multiple compensatory sensorimotor modalities. The analysis reveals that time is a valuable resource in skilled motor behavior and information-theory can serve as a measure of its effective use.

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