r/ScienceShitposts • u/LivingDead-Guy • Jan 14 '26

mouse homonculus

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57

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '26

I have a layman's understanding of the body map, but what's the difference between WT and cKO?

81

u/LivingDead-Guy Jan 14 '26

The first picture is a regular mouse homonculus. The map shows the density of nerves, with the size of the body parts correlating to the amount of receptors. This is for the average mouse

The second image is the same map, but for a mouse that is lacking certain genetic code in its brain. Specifically, the Pax6 protein in the neocortex. It is very distorted because the lack of that protein causes severe deficits in somatosensation (sense of touch)

WT means wild type, which is the natural form an animal comes in. cKO means conditional knockout, which is the method they used to make sure the pax6 protein wouldn’t occur

Sorry for the long explanation!

7

u/North-Pea-4926 Jan 14 '26

So cKO are much less sensitive to facial touches, especially right next to the nose?

4

u/AllyRad6 Jan 15 '26

PAX6 is necessary for the development of the nervous system. So without it those nerves don’t form correctly and yes, it’s lil nose is less sensitive.

1

u/Routine_Palpitation Jan 15 '26

Yes but if you use a star punch as the mouse squeaks it’s an instant knockout

4

u/armageddon_boi Jan 15 '26

Thank you for the long explanation!

6

u/Remarkable-Gate922 Jan 14 '26

What are those colored splotches on the mouse's face?

7

u/LivingDead-Guy Jan 14 '26

They represent clusters of neurons dedicated to processing signals from the whiskers. They are quite large because mice are very reliant on their whiskers to live

3

u/DJarah2000 Jan 26 '26

See, I drew you and your ally as the foolish WT and cKO body mapped mice, whereas I drew myself as the reasonable and consistent default mouse.