Sensorimotor delays constrain robust locomotion in a 3D kinematic model of fly walking

Sensorimotor delays constrain robust locomotion in a 3D kinematic model of fly walking

Walking animals must maintain stability in the presence of external perturbations, despite significant temporal delays in neural signaling and muscle actuation. Here, we develop a 3D kinematic model with a layered control architecture to investigate how sensorimotor delays constrain the robustness o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lili Karashchuk, Jing Shuang Li, Grant M Chou, Sarah Walling-Bell, Steven L Brunton, John C Tuthill, Bingni W Brunton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2025-05-01
Series:eLife
Subjects:
locomotor control
sensorimotor delay
generative model
quantifying behavior
walking
Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/99005
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Summary:Walking animals must maintain stability in the presence of external perturbations, despite significant temporal delays in neural signaling and muscle actuation. Here, we develop a 3D kinematic model with a layered control architecture to investigate how sensorimotor delays constrain the robustness of walking behavior in the fruit fly, Drosophila. Motivated by the anatomical architecture of insect locomotor control circuits, our model consists of three component layers: a neural network that generates realistic 3D joint kinematics for each leg, an optimal controller that executes the joint kinematics while accounting for delays, and an inter-leg coordinator. The model generates realistic simulated walking that resembles real fly walking kinematics and sustains walking even when subjected to unexpected perturbations, generalizing beyond its training data. However, we found that the model’s robustness to perturbations deteriorates when sensorimotor delay parameters exceed the physiological range. These results suggest that fly sensorimotor control circuits operate close to the temporal limit at which they can detect and respond to external perturbations. More broadly, we show how a modular, layered model architecture can be used to investigate physiological constraints on animal behavior.
ISSN:2050-084X

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