Role of Brain Circuits in Legged Locomotion in Insects

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Legged locomotion evolved as the most effective form of movement through difficult environments. Although much research has focused upon control of basic leg movements, it is an animal's capacity to re-direct these movements around unpredicted barriers that makes legged locomotion particularly successful. Upon encountering an obstacle, an animal must evaluate the object with its sensors, then use that information to effectively turn or climb over the barrier. In this project Dr. Ritzmann will examine how insect nervous systems control these movements. He will target specific brain regions with a range of techniques with increasing precision. These techniques include various recording and stimulation procedures combined with high-speed video analysis of behavior. They will allow Dr. Ritzmann to examine just how sensory information is used to generate descending commands that ultimately alter leg movements and, thereby, allow the animal to deal with barriers.Dr. Ritzmann's project will have wide ranging impacts. The issues of movement through complex terrain confront virtually all legged animals, and similar control systems must be present. In vertebrates, control occurs through interactions between motor regions of the brain, such as the cerebellum, and local circuits in the spinal cord. Nevertheless, the basic control problem is the same as that found in insects, yet insects provide significant technical advantages for the experiments that he will pursue. The control issues must also be solved by robots as they traverse complex and unpredictable terrain. Indeed, failure to deal with such problems limited success of search vehicles in the World Trade Center tragedy. In other projects, Dr. Ritzmann collaborates with engineers in Dr. Roger Quinn's Biorobotics laboratory to develop advanced robotic vehicles based upon biological control that can perform dangerous missions with little supervision. Results from Dr. Ritzmann's project have tremendous potential for improving the designs of these vehicles.