Humphries, M.D., Gurney, K. and Prescott, T.J. (2005) Is there an integrative center in the vertebrate brain-stem? A robotic evaluation of a model of the reticular formation viewed as an action selection device. Adaptive Behavior, 13 (2). pp. 97-113. ISSN 1059-7123
Abstract
Neurobehavioral data from intact, decerebrate, and neonatal rats, suggests that the reticular formation provides a brainstem substrate for action selection in the vertebrate central nervous system. In this article, Kilmer, McCulloch and Blum’s (1969, 1997) landmark reticular formation model is described and re-evaluated, both in simulation and, for the first time, as a mobile robot controller. Particular model configurations are found to provide effective action selection mechanisms in a robot survival task using either simulated or physical robots. The model’s competence is dependent on the organization of afferents from model sensory systems, and a genetic algorithm search identified a class of afferent configurations which have long survival times. The results support our proposal that the reticular formation evolved to provide effective arbitration between innate behaviors and, with the forebrain basal ganglia, may constitute the integrative, ’centrencephalic’ core of vertebrate brain architecture. Additionally, the results demonstrate that the Kilmer et al. model provides an alternative form of robot controller to those usually considered in the adaptive behavior literature.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright © 2005 by International Society of Adaptive Behavior. This is an author produced version of an article published in Adaptive Behaviour. |
Keywords: | action selection, reticular formation, genetic algorithms, robot |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Repository Officer |
Date Deposited: | 22 Jun 2005 |
Last Modified: | 07 Jun 2014 10:10 |
Published Version: | http://adb.sagepub.com/content/vol13/issue2/ |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | No |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/105971230501300203 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:515 |