Professor

Biology

Neurosciences, Biomedical Engineering

Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)

Understanding principles of adaptive behavior by studying the biomechanics and neural control of feeding behavior in the marine mollusk Aplysia californica.

Dr. Chiel's laboratory studies the mechanisms of adaptive behavior, i.e., behavior that allows animals to survive and reproduce. The focus of the lab is on the feeding behavior of the marine mollusk Aplysia californica, whose tractable nervous system has made it a convenient system for studying the neural mechanisms of motivated behavior, learning and memory. Dr. Chiel's lab analyzes the neural and biomechanical mechanisms underlying feeding in Aplysia using a combination of techniques: electrophysiology, biomechanics, mathematical modeling and computer simulation. Using magnetic resonance imaging, the lab has obtained movies of the animal's musculature during different feeding responses. The lab has determined that neuromechanical equilibrium points play an important role in the control of feeding movements, and that flexible reconfiguration of the nervous system and musculature underlie the multifunctionality of the feeding apparatus. The lab is currently developing wireless technology to record and stimulate individual identified neurons in intact, behaving animals. These studies are leading to the development of novel, biologically-inspired robots, and have the potential for deepening our understanding of motor control in other animals and in humans.

2004 Fellow of Institute of Physics, London