Event Date
Francisco J Valero-Cuevas, PhD
Director, Brain-Body Dynamics Laboratory
Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy
Adjunct Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering (Systems), and Computer Science
University of Southern California, Viterbi School of Engineering
ABSTRACT
I will provide an overview of a conceptual and computational framework to reverse engineer the function of afferented muscles - which is the point of contact between the nervous system and the physical world. We build a neuromorphic robotic system that can interact with the physical world by putting neuromechanical principles to the ultimate test of physical implementation.
This is a simplified, yet faithful, implementation of basic spinal circuitry responsible for the afferentation of muscles and is capable of producing both normal and pathological functions. We include state-of-the-art models of muscle spindle mechanoreceptors with fusimotor drive, monosynaptic circuitry of the stretch reflex, and alpha motoneuron recruitment and rate coding.
This hybrid, neuromorphic, neuromechanical system is a precursor to neuromorphic robotic systems. It provides a platform to study healthy function, and the potential spinal and/or supraspinal sources of pathologic behavior. I will discuss its implications to our understanding of fundamental physiological mechanisms, rehabilitation, and a new kind of robotic/assistive engineered systems.
Faculty host: Carolynn Patten, PhD, Professor, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation