Motor patterns underlying the rodent exploratory behaviours whisking and sniffing are coordinated by respiratory centres in the ventral medulla; a distinct region in the ventral medulla provides rhythmic input to the facial motor neurons that drive scanning by the vibrissae, and input from the pre-Bötzinger complex coordinates whisking with sniffing and basal breathing.
- Jeffrey D. Moore
- Martin Deschênes
- David Kleinfeld
