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

这一行动为NSF 2022财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。这项研究将解决有关大脑如何整合和转换感觉信息以改善在新环境中导航的基本问题。从昆虫大脑中获得灵感，这位研究员将开发一个全面的模型，从数学角度预测大脑回路中的低水平变化如何影响高级行为。总的来说，这项工作将产生关于大脑功能的广泛和可验证的假说。该项目还将对依靠感官信息导航复杂环境的智能机器人系统的设计产生立竿见影的影响，例如在搜救情况下。这个项目将利用数学和实验工具的组合来开发一个管理昆虫大脑中多感觉整合的“操作规则”的模型。这位研究员将专注于风向传感(感知风向)，这是一项对许多昆虫的生存至关重要的多感官任务。这位研究员将1)开发风速传感过程中多感觉整合的预测模型，2)使用飞行机器人系统在真实世界中验证该模型，以及3)在自由飞行的果蝇(果蝇)中测试该模型产生的假设。具体地说，这位研究员将利用非线性动力系统的工具来模拟如何将不同的感觉线索(视觉、本体感觉、机械感觉)组合起来进行风速传感。然后，该模型将被应用于理解大脑如何重新配置感觉线索的权重。这位研究员将在现实世界中使用自主控制的四轴飞行器来验证这个模型，该飞行器配备了类似于果蝇感官系统的传感器。这位研究员将应用该模型来生成关于昆虫在风速感应过程中飞行轨迹的假设，并在风洞中自由飞行的果蝇身上测试这些假设。作为美国联邦航空局认证的飞行员，有能力监督个人驾驶无人机，这位研究员将把这个项目的机器人测试部分转化为附近一所高中夏令营的活动。最终，目标是通过直接参与实践研究培养年轻学生对科学的兴趣，同时为研究员提供指导和指导的经验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.