NB-CNS Seminar - Bing Brunton

"Embodied intelligence: From connectomes to body models"

Brains and nervous systems evolved jointly with the bodies they inhabit. Therefore, to understand brains, behavior, and intelligence, I believe it is crucial to embrace the embodied nature of neural computation. In this talk, I will describe some ongoing collaborative work towards putting dynamic models of brains as controllers inside the bodies they evolved to sense and control. Such virtual animals will be capable of interacting with simulations of their environment. These efforts are currently closest to fruition in the fruit fly. Here, we are working with collaborators to develop tools to interface simulations of connectomes—--at the resolution of cells and synapses—--in feedback with muscle actuators, neural transduction sensors, and whole-animal biomechanics.

As an example of the promise of such an approach to gain new scientific insights, I will present our recent work developing connectome simulations of the fly ventral nerve cord (VNC) to identify a putative central pattern generator (CPG) circuit for walking. We used these simulations as a platform to perform a series of computational screens that are impossible to do in a biological experiment, which allowed us to computationally isolated a three-neuron core CPG circuit that is sufficient to generate leg motor rhythms. In ongoing work, integrating simulations of connectomes with physically realistic body models will allow us to investigate active behavioral sequences and how specific recurrent neural circuits support robust, embodied intelligence in animals. 

Host: Michael Dickinson