CRCNS: Robust Dynamics of a Feeding Pattern Generator

行走、游泳、飞行、挖洞和咀嚼都是有节奏的行为，这些行为使动物得以生存和繁殖。这些行为即使在出现意想不到的干扰或噪音的情况下仍然有效。研究者假设模式生成器的鲁棒性主要是由神经动力学和感觉输入的相互作用介导的。这一假设将通过(1)研究进食模式发生器对海洋软体动物加利福尼亚海陆的机械扰动的体内反应来验证，其已识别的神经元和经过充分研究的生物力学使其在实验上特别容易处理；(2)使用理论、计算和数学工具来深入了解鲁棒性的动态结构，例如全局稳定的极限环；或稳定的异斜通道；(3)使用能够产生行为并能对机械扰动作出反应的半完整制备直接测试中心假设，以确定已识别的感觉神经元在通过选择性激活或抑制神经元对这些扰动产生适当反应中的作用。理解健壮的动态体系结构将有许多应用。特别是，该研究将开辟为机器人创建控制体系结构的可能性，使其能够灵活应对不可预测的环境变化，并在环境扰动的情况下成功地追求长期目标。它将在开发强大的假肢装置中发挥重要作用，这些假肢装置可以灵活地应对日常任务，简化康复过程。此外，该项目加强了首席研究者（神经生物学家）和共同研究者（数学家）在数学和计算神经科学跨学科领域共同指导学生的努力，也影响了他们教授的跨学科课程的内容。

Walking, swimming, flying, burrowing and chewing are rhythmic behaviors that allow animals to survive and reproduce. These behaviors remain effective even in the presence of unexpected perturbations or noise. The investigators hypothesize that the robustness of a pattern generator is primarily mediated by the interplay of neural dynamics and sensory input. This hypothesis will be tested by (1) studying in vivo responses of a feeding pattern generator to mechanical perturbations in the marine mollusk Aplysia californica, whose identified neurons and well-studied biomechanics make it especially experimentally tractable, (2) using theoretical, computational and mathematical tools to develop insight into dynamical architectures of robustness, such as a globally stable limit cycles, or stable heteroclinic channels and (3) directly testing the central hypothesis using a semi-intact preparation that can generate behavior, and can respond to mechanical perturbations, to determine the role of identified sensory neurons in generating appropriate responses to these perturbations by selectively activating or inhibiting the neurons. Developing an understanding of robust dynamical architectures would have many applications. In particular, the research will open up the possibility of creating control architectures for robots that can flexibly cope with unpredictable environmental changes, and successfully pursue long-term goals despite environmental perturbations. It will play an important role in developing robust prosthetic devices that cope flexibly with everyday tasks, simplifying the process of rehabilitation. Additionally, this project enhances the efforts of the lead investigator, a neurobiologist, and the co-investigator, a mathematician, to co-mentor students in the interdisciplinary area of mathematical and computational neuroscience, and also impacts the content of the interdisciplinary courses that they teach.