Biological Mechanisms for Exploiting Resonance in Undulatory Swimming

该项目的目标是了解神经元控制回路是否以及如何在动物运动过程中利用机械共振来实现高效的有节奏的身体运动。一般原则将通过一个具体的案例研究的动态机制揭示水蛭的波动游泳。水蛭的各种行为是由相对简单的神经回路产生的，这为初步了解大脑在最原始的形式下是如何工作的提供了一个独特的机会。通过详细的、实验验证的神经元回路、运动神经元激活、肌肉生物力学和体液相互作用的组成模型，将开发一个简单的水蛭游泳综合模型，适合于分析研究。然后将对该模型进行理论和计算研究，以检查神经控制电路如何处理感觉信号并在名义和扰动环境条件下实现共振附近的振荡。一旦发现，共振夹带原理将有助于理解实现鲁棒性、适应性和涌现性的一般复杂系统。这些新功能一旦被设计出来，将有广泛的应用，包括在不同环境下保持运输效率的机器人车辆。在医学领域，了解神经控制机制是确定神经系统疾病或脊髓损伤引起的运动能力丧失或减少的原因、康复和治疗的基础。研究活动被整合到K-12和大学水平的教育活动中。研究生将接受实验数据处理和基于模型的动力系统分析的培训。通过研究体验活动，本科生将开发模拟水蛭游泳的教育软件模块/动画，在工程开放日等活动中激发K-12学生对科学/工程的好奇心。研究结果将广泛传播到生物学和控制工程界，以加强跨文化施肥。

The goal of the proposed project is to understand whether and how neuronal control circuits exploit mechanical resonance during animal locomotion to achieve highly efficient rhythmic body movements. General principles will be uncovered through a specific case study of dynamical mechanisms underlying undulatory swimming of leeches. Diverse behaviors of leeches are generated by relatively simple neuronal circuits, providing a unique opportunity for preliminary understanding of how the brain works in the most primitive form. A simple integrated model of leech swimming, amenable to analytical studies, will be developed from detailed, experimentally validated, component models of the neuronal circuit, motoneuron activation, muscle biomechanics, and body-fluid interactions. Theoretical and computational studies of the model will then be performed to examine how the neural control circuits process sensory signals and achieve oscillations near a resonance under nominal and perturbed environmental conditions.Once uncovered, resonance entrainment principles will contribute to understanding of general complex systems that achieve robustness, adaptability, and emergence. These new functionalities, when engineered, will have a broad range of applications, including robotic vehicles that maintain efficiency of transportation under varying environments. In the medical field, understanding of the neural control mechanisms is fundamental to determining the cause, rehabilitation, and cure for loss or reduction of locomotor ability due to neurological disorders or spinal cord injury. The research activities are integrated into educational activities at both K-12 and college levels. A graduate student will be trained for experimental data processing and model-based dynamical systems analyses. Through research experience activities, undergraduate students will develop educational software modules for simulation/animation of leech swimming to stimulate K-12 students' curiosity for science/engineering during such occasions as Engineering Open House. The results will be broadly disseminated to both biology and control engineering communities to enhance cross-cultural fertilization.