NSF PRFB FY 2023: Flexible strategies for multisensory integration inspired by the insect central complex

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This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2022, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment, and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. This research will address fundamental questions regarding how the brain integrates and transforms sensory information to improve navigation in new environments. Taking inspiration from the insect brain, the fellow will develop a comprehensive model that can predict how low-level changes in brain circuits influence high-level behaviors, from a mathematical perspective. Broadly, this work will generate wide-spread and testable hypotheses about brain function. This project will also have an immediate impact on the design of intelligent robotic systems relying on sensory information to navigate complex environments, such as in search-and-rescue situations. This project will leverage a combination of mathematical and experimental tools to develop a model of the ‘rules of operation’ governing multisensory integration in the insect brain. The fellow will focus on anemosensing (sensing the wind direction), a multisensory task critical for survival in many insects. The fellow will 1) develop a predictive model of multisensory integration during anemosensing, 2) validate the model in the real word using a flying robotic system, and 3) test hypotheses generated from the model in freely flying Drosophila (fruit flies). Specifically, the fellow will leverage tools from nonlinear dynamical systems to model how distinct combinations of sensory cues (vision, proprioception, mechanosensation) can be combined for anemosensing. The model will then be applied to understand how the brain might reconfigure the weights of sensory cues. The fellow will validate this model in real-word scenarios using an autonomously controlled quadcopter equipped with sensors analogous to that of Drosophila’s sensory systems. The fellow will apply the model to generate hypotheses about insect flight trajectories during anemosensing and test these hypotheses in freely flying Drosophila in a wind tunnel. As a FAA certified pilot, with the ability to supervise individuals flying unmanned aircraft, the fellow will translate the robotic testing portion of this project to an activity at a summer camp at a nearby high school. Ultimately, the aim is to foster an interest in science in young students through direct participation in hands-on research, while providing the fellow with experience in mentoring and instruction.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.