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SUMMARY:Internal models and the neural control of prey interception - Anth
 ony Leonardo\,   Group Leader\, Janelia Research Campus / HHMI
DTSTART:20160819T100000Z
DTEND:20160819T110000Z
UID:TALK66925@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:dw304
DESCRIPTION:Sensorimotor behaviors often rely on model-driven control. In 
 vertebrates\, such as primates\, even simple reaching gestures are constru
 cted through the use of internal  models of the body (forward and inverse 
 models) and the world. How such models are implemented at the neuronal lev
 el remains a major unsolved question in systems neuroscience. Here I explo
 re this question in a novel context\, relying on the sophisticated sensori
 motor behavior and compact neuroanatomy of insects to both complement and 
 contrast the extensive work done in vertebrates. Using dragonfly prey capt
 ure as a model system\, I will discuss four key results. First\, high reso
 lution three dimensional free flight kinematic data demonstrates that inte
 rception guidance steering is based inverse models that implement a predic
 tive flight path. Second\, in-flight steering of the head relies on forwar
 d and inverse models to stabilize the prey image against self-motion and p
 rey-motion. Third\, both body and head steering use internal states as wel
 l as visual feedback and can proceed with their kinematics in the absence 
 of vision. Finally\, I will show that the underlying neuroanatomy is consi
 stent with this behavior being driven by a series of parallel internal mod
 els\, and I will discuss the anatomical elements and connectivity that we 
 hypothesize form building blocks of the visually-driven portions of the fo
 rward and inverse models. If correct\, these data imply a neuronal impleme
 ntation of internal models substantially more distributed and implicit tha
 n the discretized and explicit representations we observe at the level of 
 behavior. \n\n
LOCATION:Engineering Department\, CBL Room 438
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