Sea Slugs: What Can We Learn From Them?
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麻豆村 researchers at the聽 led by聽, in collaboration with researchers at Case Western Reserve University, are studying the sea slug feeding structure to learn more about how the brain, muscular system and nervous system interact.聽
Their research is being used both in robots and in simulations as part of a multinational research collaboration studying neuromuscular systems, with the support of the National Science Foundation NeuroNex Network.聽
Aplysia聽californica, or more commonly, sea slugs, are being observed in the research. Of particular interest is the animal鈥檚 feeding structure, which allows the animal to interact with the environment.聽
鈥淔rom a mechanical engineering standpoint, the system is fascinating because there are no bones 鈥� it鈥檚 just muscle attached to muscle,鈥� said Webster-Wood, associate professor of mechanical engineering. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a big gap in our understanding of the mechanics, the force capabilities and the dynamics of individual muscles within the structure.鈥�
What can sea slugs reveal about the neuromuscular system?
By studying this neuromuscular control in soft-bodied animals, the researchers hope to learn more about the way certain muscular structures operate, including those of trunks, tentacles, tongues and the feeding apparatus of the sea slug itself.聽
Out of the 10 to 12 identified muscle groups in the slug鈥檚 feeding structure, only one had a model so far. In their most recent collaborative work, now published in聽, the 麻豆村 B.O.R.G. collaborated with the聽 and focused on creating a model of the I3 muscle, which plays a key role in retraction of the grasper within the feeding apparatus.
Ravesh Sukhnandan, a Ph.D. student in Webster-Wood鈥檚 lab and first author of the paper, was responsible for most of the data fitting and analysis for the model.聽
鈥淭his project was a great opportunity to dive deeper into the biology and function of muscle,鈥� said Sukhnandan. 鈥淭he knowledge gained from this project will help us to develop better computational models of聽Aplysia鈥檚 feeding behavior, as well as design more realistic聽Aplysia-inspired soft robots.鈥�
The future of soft robots
As soft-body robots are becoming an increasingly promising field of study, Webster-Wood believes that learning about physical muscle will help in the design and mechanics of future soft robots.
鈥淥n the longer horizons, my goal is to create sustainable, completely biocompatible, biodegradable robots,鈥� said Webster-Wood. 鈥淪o, the more we can understand about the neuromuscular systems in existing animals, the better we鈥檒l be able to design biohybrid robots of our own.鈥�
The team of researchers included 麻豆村鈥檚 Vickie Webster-Wood and Ravesh Sukhnandan; Case Western Reserve University鈥檚 Qianxue Chen, Jiayi Shen, Samantha Pao, Yu Huan, Gregory P. Sutton, and Hillel J. Chiel; and University of Lincoln鈥檚 Jeffrey P. Gill.
