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.

该行动为2022财年的生物学生物学研究金提供了一项NSF博士后研究奖学金，该研究研究了研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生活规则。奖学金支持对研究员的研究和培训，这些研究和培训将以创新的方式为生活规则做出贡献。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。从绝缘大脑中汲取灵感，该家伙将开发一个综合模型，该模型可以预测脑电路的低水平变化如何从数学的角度影响高级行为。从广义上讲，这项工作将产生有关大脑功能的广泛且可检验的假设。该项目还将立即对智能机器人系统的设计产生直接影响，这些机器人系统依赖于导航复杂环境（例如在搜索和撤退情况下）的感觉信息。该项目将利用数学和实验工具的结合来开发一个管理绝缘大脑中多感觉整合的“操作规则”模型。该家伙将专注于否定性（感知风向），这是许多绝缘层生存至关重要的多感觉任务。研究员愿意1）开发一种在雾化过程中的多感觉整合的预测模型，2）使用飞行机器人系统在真实词中验证该模型，以及3）测试假设假设在自由飞行的果蝇（水果蝇）中从模型中产生的假设。具体而言，同伴将利用从非线性动态系统到模拟感觉提示（视觉，本体感受，机械敏感）的不同组合的工具。然后，该模型将用于了解大脑如何重新配置​​感觉提示的权重。该研究员将使用与果蝇感觉系统相似的传感器的自主控制的四轮驱动器，在现实词的情况下验证该模型。该研究员将使用该模型来产生关于染色过程中绝缘飞行轨迹的假设，并在风洞中的自由飞行果蝇中测试这些假设。作为FAA认证的飞行员，有能力有能力监督飞行无人飞机的个人，该研究员将把该项目的机器人测试部分转化为在高中靠近高中的夏令营中的活动。最终，目的是通过直接参与动手研究来促进对年轻学生的科学兴趣，同时为研究员提供心理和指导方面的经验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估来获得珍贵的支持。