9601345 Jung Systems-level analyses of the neuronal control of rhythmic behavioral patterns in animals is not far advanced. Most of the earlier work on this problem is based on mapping of neuronal interactions. It has become evident that mathematical and computational techniques will be required to achieve a quantitative understanding of central nervous function. The long term goal of the research funded by this grant is to understand the interactions between the neural circuitry in the brain and spinal cord that underlie motor control. Specific experiments are to examine the nature of variability in the locomotor rhythms of primitive intact vertebrates and to examine the response of these animals to external perturbations. Analytical techniques include linear and non-linear signal analysis to find temporal correlations, variability, stability, and intersegmental coordination. In addition, techniques from dynamical systems theory, such as bifurcation analysis and perturbation analysis, will be used to analyze the behavior of neural network models of the central pattern generator. This research is expect to lead to an improved understanding of the coordinating mechanisms that are used by biological systems. Such improved understanding of biological control systems could also be the basis for the development of new, biologically-inspired methodologies to control of cyclic processes in engineering systems, for example, for robotic locomotion.
