Study reveals that an under-studied subset of whiskers, the supra-orbital whiskers, act as wind antennae in rats, enabling them to sense the direction of airflow and adjust their behavior accordingly

Animals rely on sensory processing of airflow (anemotaxis) to guide navigation and survival. Mugnaini and co-authors combine anatomical, electrophysiological, and behavioral analyses to reveal that an under-studied subset of whiskers, the supra-orbital whiskers, act as wind antennae in rats, thus enabling them to sense the direction of airflow and adjust their behavior accordingly. Credit: Ana Rita Mendes created this image using DALL-E and owns it. They are making it available under CC-BY 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)