Dürr Volker, Schilling Malte
Biological Cybernetics, Faculty of Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Interactive Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Front Comput Neurosci. 2018 Dec 18;12:101. doi: 10.3389/fncom.2018.00101. eCollection 2018.
Internal representation of far-range space in insects is well established, as it is necessary for navigation behavior. Although it is likely that insects also have an internal representation of near-range space, the behavioral evidence for the latter is much less evident. Here, we estimate the size and shape of the spatial equivalent of a near-range representation that is constituted by somatosensory sampling events. To do so, we use a large set of experimental whole-body motion capture data on unrestrained walking, climbing and searching behavior in stick insects of the species to delineate 'action volumes' and 'contact volumes' for both antennae and all six legs. As these volumes are derived from recorded sampling events, they comprise a volume equivalent to a representation of coinciding somatosensory and motor activity. Accordingly, we define this volume as the of an insect. It is of immediate behavioral relevance, because it comprises all potential external object locations within the action range of the body. In a next step, we introduce the notion of an as that part of peripersonal space within which contact-induced spatial estimates lie within the action ranges of more than one limb. Because the action volumes of limbs overlap in this affordance space, spatial information from one limb can be used to control the movement of another limb. Thus, it gives rise to an affordance as known for contact-induced reaching movements and spatial coordination of footfall patterns in stick insects. Finally, we probe the computational properties of the experimentally derived affordance space for pairs of neighboring legs. This is done by use of artificial neural networks that map the posture of one leg into a target posture of another leg with identical foot position.
昆虫对远距离空间的内部表征已得到充分证实，因为这对导航行为至关重要。尽管昆虫很可能也有对近距离空间的内部表征，但后者的行为证据要少得多。在这里，我们估计了由体感采样事件构成的近距离表征的空间等效物的大小和形状。为此，我们使用了大量关于该物种竹节虫自由行走、攀爬和搜索行为的实验性全身运动捕捉数据，来描绘触角和所有六条腿的“动作空间”和“接触空间”。由于这些空间是从记录的采样事件中得出的，它们包含了一个等同于体感和运动活动重合表征的空间。因此，我们将这个空间定义为昆虫的“动作-接触空间”。它与行为直接相关，因为它包含了身体动作范围内所有潜在的外部物体位置。在下一步中，我们引入“可及空间”的概念，即个人周边空间中接触诱导的空间估计落在不止一个肢体动作范围内的那部分空间。因为在这个可供性空间中肢体的动作空间相互重叠，来自一个肢体的空间信息可用于控制另一个肢体的运动。因此，它产生了一种可供性，就像竹节虫中接触诱导的伸手动作和脚步模式的空间协调一样。最后，我们探究了实验得出的相邻腿部对的可及空间的计算特性。这是通过使用人工神经网络来完成的，该网络将一条腿的姿势映射到具有相同足部位置的另一条腿的目标姿势。
