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Touch Sensors on Bat Wings Guide Flight
Bats are masters of flight in the night sky, capable of steep
nosedives and sharp turns that put our best aircraft to shame.
Although the role of echolocation in bats’ impressive midair
maneuvering has been extensively studied, the contribution of
touch has been largely overlooked. A study published April 30 in
Cell Reports shows, for the first time, that a unique array of
sensory receptors in the wing provides feedback to a bat during
flight. The findings also suggest that neurons in the bat brain
respond to incoming airflow and touch signals, triggering rapid
adjustments in wing position to optimize flight control.
“This study provides evidence that the sense of touch plays a key role in the evolution of powered
flight in mammals,” says co-senior study author Ellen Lumpkin, a Columbia University associate
professor of dermatology and physiology and cellular biophysics. “This research also lays the
groundwork for understanding what sensory information bats use to perform such remarkable feats
when flying through the air and catching insects. Humans cannot currently build aircrafts that match
the agility of bats, so a better grasp of these processes could inspire new aircraft design and new
sensors for monitoring airflow.”
Bats must rapidly integrate different types of sensory information to catch insects and avoid obstacles
while flying. The contribution of hearing and vision to bat flight is well established, but the role of touch
has received little attention since the discovery of echolocation. Recently, co-senior study author
Cynthia Moss and co-author Susanne Sterbing-D’Angelo of The Johns Hopkins University discovered
that microscopic wing hairs stimulated by airflow, are critical for flight behaviors such as turning and
controlling speed. But until now, it was not known how bats use tactile feedback from their wings to
control flight behaviors.
In the new study, the Lumpkin and Moss labs analyzed, for the first time, the distribution of different
sensory receptors in the wing and the organization of the wing skin’s connections to the nervous
system. Compared to other mammalian limbs, the bat wing has a unique distribution of hair follicles
and touch-sensitive receptors, and the spatial pattern of these receptors suggests that different parts
of the wing are equipped to send different types of sensory information to the brain.
“While sensory cells located between the “fingers” could respond to skin stretch and changes in wind
direction, another set of receptors associated with hairs could be specialized for detecting turbulent
airflow during flight,” says Sterbing-D’Angelo, who also holds an appointment at the University of
Maryland.
Moreover, bat wings have a distinct sensory circuitry in comparison to other mammalian forelimbs.
Sensory neurons on the wing send projections to a broader and lower section of the spinal cord,
including much of the thoracic region. In other mammals, this region of the spinal cord usually
receives signals from the trunk rather than the forelimbs. This unusual circuitry reflects the motley
roots of the bat wing, which arises from the fusion of the forelimb, trunk, and hindlimb during
embryonic development.
“This is important because it gives us insight into how evolutionary processes incorporate new body
parts into the nervous system,” says first author Kara Marshall of Columbia University. “Future studies
are needed to determine whether these organizational principles of the sensory circuitry of the wing
are conserved among flying mammals.”
The researchers also found that neurons in the brain responded when the wing was either stimulated
by air puffs or touched with a thin filament, suggesting that airflow and tactile stimulation activate
common neural pathways.
“Our next steps will be following the sensory circuits in the wings all the way from the skin to the brain.
In this study, we have identified individual components of these circuits, but next we would like to see
how they are connected in the central nervous system,” Moss says. “An even bigger goal will be to
understand how the bat integrates sensory information from the many receptors in the wing to create
smooth, nimble flight.”
###
Cell Reports, Marshall et al.: “Somatosensory Substrates of Flight Control in Bats”
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2015.04.001
In online coverage, please mention the journal Cell Reports and link to the paper
at http://http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(15)00376-9
To access a PDF of the paper proof, two images, and a raw bat video, please
visit: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qv49rad6qh0m1t6/AAAn3pdSPfhKh29F5o9W3h8Da?dl=0 or e-mail
Joseph Caputo at jcaputo@cell.com.
To view a video clip with researcher interviews by Johns Hopkins University, please
see: https://youtu.be/d9m-ERCYAqI
Author Contacts:
Ellen Lumpkin
Columbia University
eal2166@columbia.edu
(212) 851 4830
Cindy Moss
The Johns Hopkins University
cynthia.moss@jhu.edu
(410) 516 6483
Media Contacts:
Lucky Tran
Columbia University
lt2549@cumc.columbia.edu
212-305-3689
Jill Rosen
Johns Hopkins
jrosen@jhu.edu
o: 443-997-9906
c: 443-547-8805
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