CAREER: Infomechanics - The interdependence of animal information acquisition and mechanics

职业：信息力学 - 动物信息获取和力学的相互依赖

• 批准号: 0846032
• 负责人: Malcolm MacIver
• 金额: $ 125万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-15 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0846032&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Infomechanics; interdependence; animal; information

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).While the nervous system operates with information, the mechanics of the body and the environment in which it is embedded constitute a world of forces. Work on the mechanics of the body and on the nervous system is rarely undertaken in a joint fashion, in part because of the difficulty of comparing these quantities. A theoretical umbrella under which neural information acquisition can be related to mechanics is currently lacking; there is no science of infomechanics. This project will use the model system of weakly electric fish to push forward an understanding of the linkages between obtaining sensory information and movement mechanics. It has recently been shown that, unlike most forward-biased animals which sense objects ahead better than in other directions, electric fish are able to sense in all directions. Complementing this unique sensory capacity is a motor system which allows them reach locations all around the body quickly. The very high degree of coupling between sensation and movement in these animals makes them ideal for elucidating the principles connecting mechanics to sensory processing. The kinematics and dynamics of this unique motor system will be studied through use of a highly stereotyped refuge-tracking behavior and work on an advanced electric fish robot. The neural basis of sensory-guided movement will be examined through a study of the encoding of locomotor signals in the brain. Finally, a robotic model of a closed-loop sensory tracking behavior present in fish will be used to test hypotheses of how the processing of object features is connected with movement control. This work will result in the training of one postdoctoral associate and several graduate students in interdisciplinary research spanning behavior, neurobiology, robotics, and fluid dynamics.

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。当神经系统以信息运作时，身体的机制和它所处的环境构成了一个力的世界。研究身体力学和神经系统的工作很少以一种共同的方式进行，部分原因是很难比较这些数量。目前缺乏将神经信息获取与力学联系起来的理论框架；没有信息力学这门科学。本项目将使用弱电鱼的模型系统来推动对获取感官信息和运动力学之间联系的理解。最近有研究表明，电鱼不像大多数倾向于前方的动物那样能更好地感知前方的物体，而不是其他方向，电鱼能感知所有方向。与这种独特的感觉能力相辅相成的是一个运动系统，它使它们能够迅速到达身体各处。这些动物的感觉和运动之间的高度耦合使它们成为阐明力学与感觉处理之间联系原理的理想选择。这种独特的运动系统的运动学和动力学将通过使用高度定型的避难所跟踪行为和先进的电动鱼机器人来研究。通过对大脑中运动信号编码的研究，我们将探讨感觉引导运动的神经基础。最后，一个闭环传感跟踪行为的机器人模型将用于测试物体特征的处理如何与运动控制相关联的假设。这项工作将培养一名博士后和几名研究生进行跨学科研究，包括行为学、神经生物学、机器人和流体动力学。