IPAB Seminar - 03/04/2019

Title: Sensorimotor computation: Lessons from a worm

 Abstract : Biological systems solve computational problems in remarkable ways. Animals, in particular, have nervous systems that allow them to sense and act on the environment in ways that bewilder the imagination. Amongst the simplest animal nervous systems are those of nematodes or roundworms. Here I will present some recent progress in modelling the neural control of behaviour in one nematode: the model system C.  elegans. Results will include a study of locomotion and gait modulation in complex physical environments, navigation, sensory integration and behavioural "choice". For each example, I will discuss the respective roles of the neuronal dynamics, the animal's embodiment and its situatedness in the environment. Time permitting, I will highlight the sometimes counter-intuitive nature of some of the engineering solutions proposed, and the implications, both for our understanding of the neural control of behaviour in this animal, and for translating these models into biologically inspired engineering solutions in mobile robots and beyond.