Conference: The Role of Mechanosensation in Robust Movement Control

该奖项资助了综合与比较生物学学会(SICB)2023年1月年会上的一个研讨会，该研讨会探讨了机械传感器如何集成到运动控制系统中并影响行为性能。即使面对极端的外部干扰，许多动物也会表现出非常可预测的行为。这些生物体接收到什么感觉信号，使它们能够一致地协调运动反应，尽管有这些干扰？研讨会将审查关于机械感觉在动物行为中的作用的各种想法，并鼓励跨生物体工作的研究人员综合想法并为该领域制定共同的研究议程。研讨会有来自代表多个职业阶段的不同类型机构的不同类型的演讲者参加，他们的演讲和发表的文章将共同讨论脊椎动物和无脊椎动物的机械感觉，以及机器人“有机体”。除了主要的研讨会演讲外，预定的补充会议将有学生演讲者，他们将在工作午餐会议期间与研讨会参与者一起讨论。研讨会的演讲者将为SICB期刊《综合与比较生物学》的特刊撰写文章。研讨会的组织者正在与德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校(UT奥斯汀)的一个项目--Longhorn Ties(过渡、包容、赋权、成功)合作，安排一个闪电谈话系列，致力于支持那些认为自己属于自闭症谱系或神经多样性的学生。这次外展活动的目的是向学生介绍研究与生物科学相关的一系列科学问题的不同科学家群体。机械感觉的研究最近进展迅速，这次适时的研讨会将研究人员聚集在一起，比较和对比他们不同的系统，分享实验建议和方法，并启发协作的、跨物种的方法来理解机械感觉在运动控制系统中的作用。专题讨论会的主要目标是鼓励采用比较的方法来了解机械传感器是如何纳入生物体控制系统的，并开发一种进化的方法来了解机械传感器的基本生物学，特别是考虑到类群之间可能存在相似(或同源)的传感器结构和功能。希望专题讨论会的与会者将为该领域制定共同的研究议程，并希望参加专题讨论会将集体激励研究人员开展合作项目，这些项目包括他们所选择的模式系统之外的物种和跨越生物尺度的物种。研讨会的结果将通过发表在SICB期刊《综合与比较生物学》和德克萨斯大学奥斯汀大学的学生外展活动中传播。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 award funds a symposium at the January 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) that explores how mechanical sensors are integrated into movement control systems and impact behavioral performance. Many animals exhibit extraordinarily predictable behaviors even in the face of extreme external disruptions. What sensory signals do these organisms receive that allow them to consistently coordinate their motor responses in spite of these disturbances? The symposium will examine a variety of ideas regarding the role of mechanosensation in animal behavior and encourage researchers working across organisms to synthesize ideas and develop a shared research agenda for the field. The symposium features a diverse array of speakers from different types of institutions that represent multiple career stages, and their talks and published articles will collectively cover mechanosensation in vertebrate and invertebrate animals, as well as robotic “organisms.” In addition to the main symposium talks, a scheduled complementary session will feature student speakers, who will join discussions with symposium participants during a working lunch meeting. The symposium speakers will contribute articles for a special issue of the SICB journal, Integrative and Comparative Biology. The symposium organizers are arranging a lightning talk series in collaboration with Longhorn TIES (Transition, Inclusion, Empower, Success), a program at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) dedicated to supporting students who identify as being on the autism spectrum or neurodiverse. The goal of this outreach event is to introduce the students to a diverse group of scientists studying a range of scientific questions related to the Biological Sciences. Research on mechanosensation has recently progressed rapidly, and this timely symposium brings together researchers to compare and contrast their different systems, share experimental advice and methods, and inspire collaborative, cross-species approaches to understanding the role of mechanosensation in movement control systems. The major goals of the symposium are to encourage a comparative approach to understanding how mechanosensors are incorporated in organismal control systems, and to develop an evolutionary approach to understanding the basic biology of mechanosensors, especially considering the potential for analogous (or homologous) sensor structure and function across taxa. It is hoped that the symposium participants will develop a shared research agenda for the field and that participation in the symposium will collectively inspire researchers to take on collaborative projects that include species outside of their chosen model system and that cross biological scales. Symposium results will be disseminated through publication in the SICB journal, Integrative and Comparative Biology, and the outreach event to students at the University of Texas Austin.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.