A basal ganglia inspired model of action selection evaluated in a robotic survival task.
The basal ganglia system has been proposed as a possible neural substrate for action selection in the vertebrate brain. We describe a robotic implementation of a model of the basal ganglia and demonstrate the capacity of this system to generate adaptive switching between several acts when embedded in a robot that has to "survive" in a laboratory environment. A comparison between this brain-inspired selection mechanism and classical "winner-takes-all" selection highlights some adaptive properties specific to the model, such as avoidance of dithering and energy-saving. These properties derive, in part, from the capacity of simulated basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loops to generate appropriate "behavioral persistence".
Girard
Benoît
B
AnimatLab/LIP6, 8 rue du capitaine Scott, 75015 Paris, France. benoit.girard@lip6.fr
Cuzin
Vincent
V
Guillot
Agnès
A
Gurney
Kevin N
KN
Prescott
Tony J
TJ
D000818:Animals; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000502:physiology*; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004559:Electric Wiring; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D012371:Robotics; D013534:Survival