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

该行动资助了美国国家科学基金会2022财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持将以创新方式对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。这项研究将解决关于大脑如何整合和转换感官信息以提高在新环境中的导航能力的基本问题。从昆虫的大脑中获得灵感，他将开发一个全面的模型，从数学的角度预测大脑回路的低级变化如何影响高级行为。总的来说，这项工作将产生广泛传播和可测试的关于大脑功能的假设。该项目还将对智能机器人系统的设计产生直接影响，这些系统依赖于感官信息来导航复杂的环境，例如在搜索和救援情况下。该项目将利用数学和实验工具的结合来开发控制昆虫大脑中多感觉整合的“操作规则”模型。他将专注于风速感知（感知风向），这是一项对许多昆虫生存至关重要的多感官任务。该研究员将1)开发一个在风速传感过程中多感官整合的预测模型，2)在真实世界中使用飞行机器人系统验证该模型，3)在自由飞行的果蝇（果蝇）中测试该模型产生的假设。具体来说，该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）组合在一起进行风速传感。然后，该模型将被应用于理解大脑如何重新配置感官线索的权重。这名研究员将在现实世界的场景中验证这个模型，使用一架配备了类似果蝇感觉系统的传感器的自主控制四轴飞行器。该研究员将应用该模型来产生关于昆虫在风速传感过程中的飞行轨迹的假设，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驾驶飞机，他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。最终的目标是通过直接参与动手研究来培养年轻学生对科学的兴趣，同时为他们提供指导和指导的经验。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.