High-speed videography, developed by MIT researchers, reveals how a rat uses its whiskers to explore a textured surface. An automated algorithm is used to analyze the whisker micromotions, which are thought to underlie rats’ highly developed abilities to perceive tactile objects and distinguish textures. This video was captured at 3202 frames per second, so on most computers the playback will be slowed down by about 100x.

Video courtesy of Jason Ritt, McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT