Chemo-Hydrodynamic Signal Detection

气味羽流是由释放来源的气味与“干净”的空气或水的湍流混合而产生的。结果是一系列“有味道的”旋涡与非有味道的旋涡混合在一起。这些有味道的涡流的空间分布包含了一个统计上可靠的信息梯度，动物可以利用这些信息来定位遥远的气味来源。因此，他们需要具有过滤功能的传感器来增强那些提供最佳空间梯度的信号参数。必须同时考虑化学和水动力扩散模式。以前美国国家科学基金会资助的实验确定，对于化学梯度，气味斑块的浓度斜率提供了良好的方向性信息。无论是相当的水动力信息，还是这两个信号特征实际上被动物使用的程度，以及在什么情况下都是已知的。将研究化学流体动力学信号检测的主要传感过程。龙虾及其经过充分研究的外侧触角将被用作连接两种模式中主要感觉信息的选择模型。将使用将化学和机械信息传递到大脑的触角神经动作电位的电生理记录。切除的天线将暴露在独立控制的化学和流体动力学刺激下，并对两者进行高分辨率测量。天线的化学响应特性相对来说是众所周知的。现在将确定其流体动力学响应性，并探索外围双模式信号处理的可能性。任何形式的双模式化学-流体动力学相互作用都会对“风味涡流”的检测产生影响。无脊椎动物的外周感觉系统中往往有硬连线的感官过滤器。这项工作的结果可能会应用于传感器和算法的设计，以自动追踪气味羽流，如检测和定位水下和空气中的化学污染源。

Odor plumes are generated by turbulent mixing of odor from a source of release with "clean" air or water. The result is a series of "flavored" eddies intermingled with non-flavored eddies. The spatial distribution of these flavored eddies contains a statistically reliable gradient of information that animals may use to locate distant odor sources. Therefore, they need sensors whose filtering capabilities enhance those signal parameters that provide the best spatial gradients. Both chemical and hydrodynamic dispersal patterns must be considered.Previous NSF funding supported experiments from which it was determined that for chemical gradients the concentration slopes of odor patches provide good directional information. Neither the equivalent hydrodynamic information nor to which degree these two signal features are actually used by animals and under which circumstances are known. The primary sensory processes of chemo-hydrodynamic signal detection will be studied. The lobster and its well-studied lateral antennule will be used as the model of choice for linking primary sensory information in both modalities.Electrophysiological recording of action potentials from the antennular nerve, which carries chemical and mechanical information to the brain, will be used. The excised antennule will be exposed to independently controlled chemical and hydrodynamic stimuli with high-resolution measurement of both. The chemical response properties of the antennule are relatively well known. Its hydrodynamic responsiveness now will be determined and the possibility of peripheral bi-modal signal processing will be explored. Any form of bi-modal chemo-hydrodynamic interaction would have consequences for the detection of "flavored eddies". Invertebrates often appear to have hard-wired sensory filters in their peripheral sensory systems.The results of this work may find application in the design of sensors and algorithms for automated odor plume tracing in such tasks as detection and localization of sources of chemical pollution, both under water and in air.