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

NSF PRFB 2023 财年：受昆虫中枢复合体启发的多感官整合灵活策略

• 批准号: 2305641
• 负责人: Benjamin Cellini
• 金额: $ 24万
• 依托单位: Cellini, Benjamin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-12-01 至 2025-11-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2305641&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; PRFB; FY; 2023; Flexible

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.

这项行动资助了2022财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，综合研究调查了基因组，环境和表型之间的生命管理相互作用的规则。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，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官信息以改善新环境中导航的基本问题。从昆虫大脑中获得灵感，该研究员将开发一个综合模型，可以从数学角度预测大脑回路中的低水平变化如何影响高水平行为。从广义上讲，这项工作将产生关于大脑功能的广泛和可验证的假设。该项目还将对依靠感官信息在复杂环境中导航的智能机器人系统的设计产生直接影响，例如在搜索和救援情况下。该项目将利用数学和实验工具相结合，开发一个模型的“操作规则”管理昆虫大脑中的多感官整合。这位研究员将专注于风速感应（感知风向），这是一种对许多昆虫生存至关重要的多感官任务。该研究员将1）开发一个预测模型的多感官整合在anemosensing，2）验证模型在真实的字使用飞行机器人系统，和3）测试假设产生的模型在自由飞行的果蝇（果蝇）。具体来说，该研究员将利用非线性动力系统的工具来模拟感觉线索（视觉，本体感觉，机械感觉）的不同组合如何结合起来进行风速感知。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。该研究员将使用配备类似于果蝇感觉系统的传感器的自主控制四轴飞行器在真实场景中验证该模型。 该研究员将应用该模型来生成关于昆虫在风速传感过程中飞行轨迹的假设，并在风洞中自由飞行的果蝇中测试这些假设。作为一名FAA认证的飞行员，他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。最终目的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价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。