Emergence Of Adaptive Behavior Research Articles

Emergence of Adaptive behavior in simulations by using Abstract Rewriting System on Multisets

Emergence of Adaptive behavior in simulations by using Abstract Rewriting System on Multisets

The perceptual control of goal-directed locomotion: a common control architecture for interception and navigation?

Intercepting a moving object while locomoting is a highly complex and demanding ability. Notwithstanding the identification of several informational candidates, the role of perceptual variables in the control process underlying such skills remains an open question. In this study we used a virtual reality set-up for studying locomotor interception of a moving ball. The subject had to walk along a straight path and could freely modify forward velocity, if necessary, in order to intercept-with the head-a ball moving along a straight path that led it to cross the agent's displacement axis. In a series of experiments we manipulated a local (ball size) and a global (focus of expansion) component of the visual flow but also the egocentric orientation of the ball. The experimental observations are well captured by a dynamic model linking the locomotor acceleration to properties of both global flow and egocentric direction. More precisely the changes in locomotor velocity depend on a linear combination of the change in bearing angle and the change in egocentric orientation, allowing the emergence of adaptive behavior under a variety of circumstances. We conclude that the mechanisms underlying the control of different goal-directed locomotion tasks (i.e. steering and interceptive tasks) could share a common architecture.

Effects of Early Onset Brain Injury on the Development of Cognition and Behavior: Introduction to the Special Issue

The effects of brain injury acquired early in life on the development of cognition and behavior are not well understood. Deciphering these effects and modeling their neurodevelopmental trajectories are major concerns for clinicians and scientists. Historically, a prevailing notion has been that early-onset brain damage has a more favorable prognosis than does brain damage acquired in adulthood. However, there is growing evidence suggesting that early-onset damage to prefrontal brain structures may have devastating consequences on the emergence of adaptive behavior throughout development. Particularly prominent are disorders of personality, social behavior, and executive functions such as planning and decision making. This special issue presents a series of new empirical studies that address these issues in depth, from several different perspectives, and in both human and animal participants. The findings promise to shed further light on both the neurobiology of development, and diverse neurodevelopmental disorders. Such advances may also enhance clinical diagnosis and facilitate the design of more effective interventions to help reduce the tremendous burden that neurodevelopmental disorders place on personal well-being, family structure, educational systems, and social resources.