Collaborative Research: Navigation and the Neural Integration of Multimodal Sensory Information in the Brain of an Arthropod

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The ability of animals to navigate through their environment often far exceeds human capabilities (without the help of technology). Exceptional navigation is not limited to animals with large brains, like birds and mammals. It can also be found in animals with simpler nervous systems. The tropical amblypygid, a scorpion-like animal, is able to find its way home at night over distances exceeding 10 meters through dense, tropical forest understory. The study of how different types of sensory information (visual, chemical, tactile) are processed by amblypygids as they solve navigation problems can reveal fundamental design properties of simple nervous systems that are somehow capable of controlling complex, learned behavior. These design properties can inspire engineering solutions applicable to robotic and artificial intelligence systems. The study of charismatic tropical amblypygids also serves as an alluring gateway for teachers to introduce K-12 students to the importance of neuroscience for understanding how organisms acquire and process information from their environment and how this information influences learning, memory and associated behavior. To support engagement with K-12 students, their teachers and the general public, researchers will, among other activities, develop internet-based educational materials in both English and Spanish and develop various scientific inquiry activities for science events. By conducting behavioral experiments that assess amblypygid (Phrynus pseudoparvulus) movements after they are displaced from a home refuge, researchers will assess the relative importance of visual, chemical and mechanical information in supporting navigation. These experiments will either involve manipulation of animal sense organs or the sensory cues in their environment. The neurobiological work will focus on a brain area known as the "mushroom bodies", which are thought to support spatial memory. In parallel with the behavioral work, researchers will explore the nervous system routes by which information from different sensory stimuli is sent to the mushroom bodies. Particular attention will be given to how the mushroom bodies "engineer" or "integrate" the different sensory inputs. The integration of sensory inputs is hypothesized to be necessary to support complex navigation and will likely be crucial for the design of any sophisticated artificial system. Finally, the importance of the mushroom bodies in navigation, and their capacity to combine different sources of sensory information, will be tested under the same conditions of the behavioral experiments noted above, except using animals whose mushroom bodies are impaired.