Descending Modulation

Ongoing

This project is ongoing. If it interests you, please feel free to reach out in case you would like to know more, discuss it, or explore ways to extend it.

Overview

This project investigates how descending modulation can shape turning, gait adaptation, and locomotor recovery in salamander-like robots. Inspired by biological motor control, it asks how high-level command signals can modulate spinal locomotor circuits to produce coordinated changes in body and limb movement.

The broader question is how high-level motor commands are organized and conveyed to locomotor circuits through compact descending modulation signals. In salamanders, turning, gait transitions, and locomotor recovery observations suggest that flexible behavior can emerge from structured modulation of body and limb circuits rather than from fully separate controllers for each behavior.

Methods and Tools

The work uses salamander-like robotic simulation, central pattern generator models, brainstem-inspired descending modulation, gait control, turning tasks, and locomotor recovery scenarios. The project explores how asymmetric drive, limb-body recruitment, and modulation of spinal circuits influence turning behavior and recovery after disruption.