title: Geometrical approach to neural net control of movements and posture.
abstract: In one approach to modeling brain function, sensorimotor integration is described as geometrical mapping among coordinates of non-orthogonal frames that are intrinsic to the system; in such a case sensors represent (covariant) afferents and motor effectors represent (contravariant) motor efferents. The neuronal networks that perform such a function are viewed as general tensor transformations among different expressions and metric tensors determining the geometry of neural functional spaces. Although the non-orthogonality of a coordinate system does not impose a specific geometry on the space, this "Tensor Network Theory of brain function" allows for the possibility that the geometry is non-Euclidean. It is suggested that investigation of the non-Euclidean nature of the geometry is the key to understanding brain function and to interpreting neuronal network function. This paper outlines three contemporary applications of such a theoretical modeling approach. The first is the analysis and interpretation of multi-electrode recordings. The internal geometries of neural networks controlling external behavior of the skeletomuscle system is experimentally determinable using such multi-unit recordings. The second application of this geometrical approach to brain theory is modeling the control of posture and movement. A preliminary simulation study has been conducted with the aim of understanding the control of balance in a standing human. The model appears to unify postural control strategies that have previously been considered to be independent of each other. Third, this paper emphasizes the importance of the geometrical approach for the design and fabrication of neurocomputers that could be used in functional neuromuscular stimulation (FNS) for replacing lost motor control.
authors.affiliation: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Pellionisz
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Ramos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002415:Cats; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000502:physiology; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*