CRCNS: Robust Dynamics of a Feeding Pattern Generator

行走、游泳、飞行、挖洞和咀嚼是使动物得以生存和繁殖的有节奏的行为。这些行为即使在存在意外扰动或噪声的情况下仍然有效。研究人员假设，模式发生器的鲁棒性主要是由神经动力学和感觉输入的相互作用介导的。这一假设将通过以下方式进行检验：（1）研究摄食模式发生器对海洋软体动物加利福尼亚海蛞蝓中机械扰动的体内反应，其经鉴定的神经元和经过充分研究的生物力学使其特别易于实验处理，（2）使用理论、计算和数学工具来深入了解鲁棒性的动力学结构，例如全局稳定的极限环，或稳定的异宿通道，以及（3）使用能够产生行为并且能够响应机械扰动的半完整制备物直接测试中心假设，以确定所鉴定的感觉神经元在通过选择性激活或抑制神经元而产生对这些扰动的适当响应中的作用。发展对鲁棒动态架构的理解将有许多应用。特别是，该研究将为机器人创建控制架构开辟可能性，这些机器人可以灵活科普不可预测的环境变化，并在环境扰动的情况下成功实现长期目标。它将在开发强大的假肢装置方面发挥重要作用，这些装置可以灵活地科普日常任务，简化康复过程。此外，该项目增强了首席研究员（神经生物学家）和共同研究员（数学家）在数学和计算神经科学跨学科领域共同指导学生的努力，并影响了他们教授的跨学科课程的内容。

Walking, swimming, flying, burrowing and chewing are rhythmic behaviors that allow animals to survive and reproduce. These behaviors remain effective even in the presence of unexpected perturbations or noise. The investigators hypothesize that the robustness of a pattern generator is primarily mediated by the interplay of neural dynamics and sensory input. This hypothesis will be tested by (1) studying in vivo responses of a feeding pattern generator to mechanical perturbations in the marine mollusk Aplysia californica, whose identified neurons and well-studied biomechanics make it especially experimentally tractable, (2) using theoretical, computational and mathematical tools to develop insight into dynamical architectures of robustness, such as a globally stable limit cycles, or stable heteroclinic channels and (3) directly testing the central hypothesis using a semi-intact preparation that can generate behavior, and can respond to mechanical perturbations, to determine the role of identified sensory neurons in generating appropriate responses to these perturbations by selectively activating or inhibiting the neurons. Developing an understanding of robust dynamical architectures would have many applications. In particular, the research will open up the possibility of creating control architectures for robots that can flexibly cope with unpredictable environmental changes, and successfully pursue long-term goals despite environmental perturbations. It will play an important role in developing robust prosthetic devices that cope flexibly with everyday tasks, simplifying the process of rehabilitation. Additionally, this project enhances the efforts of the lead investigator, a neurobiologist, and the co-investigator, a mathematician, to co-mentor students in the interdisciplinary area of mathematical and computational neuroscience, and also impacts the content of the interdisciplinary courses that they teach.