Cercus electric stimulation enables cockroach with trajectory control and spatial cognition training
2025-04-26
(Press-News.org)
A research paper by scientists at Beijing Institute of Technology presented a steering control strategy for cyborg insects in operant learning training of cockroaches in a T-maze. Cockroaches developed a preference for specific maze channels after only five consecutive sessions of unilateral cercus electrical stimulation and steering behavior induction, achieving a memory score of 83.5%, outperforming traditional punishing training schemes.
The research paper, published on Mar. 7, 2025 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems.
Cyborg insects are highly adaptable for detection and recognition assignments, achieved through the electrical stimulation of multiple organs and nerves to control their locomotion. However, it remains unclear whether these control strategies can promote memory formation in insects, thereby facilitating their training for recognition assignments. “To investigate the effect of electrical stimulation of sensory organs on insect memory formation, the cerci of cockroaches were stimulated with electric signals during training, inducing them to divert to a specific maze channel before making autonomous decisions.” said the author Li Yu, a researcher at Beijing Institute of Technology, “We demonstrated that cockroaches completed spatial learning after only five training sessions. The learning performance of cockroaches under electrical inducement-based training exceeded that of traditional punishment-based training.”
The research process of this paper is divided into the following parts: (1) Select adult Madagascar cockroaches with a body length of 5-7 cm as experimental subjects. (2) Create a T-shaped training maze with thermal punishment mechanism and a wireless micro stimulator with electrical punishment. (3) Determine the optimal electrical stimulation parameters for precise control of cockroach behavior during training by stimulating the turning response of the unilateral caudal cord with electrical stimulation. (4) Train cockroaches using three strategies: thermal stimulation, guided electrical stimulation, and punitive electrical stimulation. Record and compare the memory performance of cockroaches under the three strategies.
The present study describes the learning performance of cockroaches in the T-maze based on three different training modalities. Among these three training approaches, the training protocol based on guided electrical stimulation obtained the highest memory score of 83.50% ± 0.15%, significantly higher than that of punitive electrical stimulation and thermal stimulation. Meanwhile, the learning performance trained in this way has strong stability. “In future studies, we aim to integrate sensory cues with this strategy further to enhance cyborg insects’ ability to recognize environmental, visual, and odor information. This will expand the applications of cyborg insects for detection assignments.” said Li Yu.
Authors of the paper include Li Yu, Jieliang Zhao, Yufan Song, Zhiyun Ma, Zhong Liu, Lulu Liang, Mengdi Xu, Wenzhong Wang, and Shaoze Yan.
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2021YFB3400200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 52075038 and 52375282), the National Science and Technology Major Project of China (grant SKS-2022031), and the BIT Teli Young Fellow Recruitment Program (RCPT-20220005).
The paper, “Cercus Electric Stimulation Enables Cockroach with Trajectory Control and Spatial Cognition Training” was published in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems on Mar. 7, 2025, at DOI: 10.34133/cbsystems.0154.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2025-04-26
26 April 2025, Boston—Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) often goes undiagnosed for years, is frequently caught late, and primarily affects young, otherwise healthy individuals. Even when diagnosed, finding the right treatment can be challenging.
At this year’s Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), a day-long CTEPH conference—co-sponsored by ISHLT and the International CTEPH Association (ICA) —brought together ...
2025-04-26
26 April 2025, Boston—Healthcare practitioners from around the world received hands-on training for treating patients in cardiogenic shock (CS) during a first-ever simulation lab at today’s Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) in Boston.
The simulation lab was part of ISHLT’s inaugural Cardiogenic Shock Academy, a day-long session featuring a case-based forum and discussion of hot topics and anticipated developments ...
2025-04-26
Tokyo, Japan – A scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University has solved the longstanding problem of a “dissonance” in gravitational waves emitted by a black hole. Using high precision computing and a new theoretical physics framework, it was discovered that it was caused by a resonance between a pair of distinctive “modes” i.e. different ways in which a black hole can “ring.” The phenomenon offers new insights into the nascent field of black hole spectroscopy.
Black holes are astrophysical objects so dense that even light cannot escape their gravitational pull. Despite their awesome presence ...
2025-04-26
The less intensively you manage the soil, the better the soil can function. Such as not ploughing as often or using more grass-clover mixtures as cover crops. These are the conclusions from a research team led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). Surprisingly, it applies to both conventional and organic farming. These important insights for making agriculture more sustainable are published in the scientific journal Science today. ‘It offers clear evidence to help farmers manage soils better.’
Growing food more sustainably: what's the best way to do this? It is ...
2025-04-26
WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- The Frontiers Planet Prize, the world’s largest science competition to enhance planetary health by fast-tracking innovative research, has announced National Champions from 19 different countries who now advance to the International competition, which will award three winners $1M each to scale up their research.
Suzanne Tank and co-authors from the Arctic Great Rivers Observatory (ArcticGRO), a multinational project founded at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), were recognized for their publication, “Recent trends in the chemistry of major northern rivers signal widespread Arctic change,” published ...
2025-04-25
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that destroys the nerves necessary for movement. About 30,000 people in the United States are affected, and doctors still don’t know what causes it. To lay the groundwork for better tests, Thomas Jefferson University researchers Phillipe Loher, Eric Londin, PhD, and Isidore Rigoutsos, PhD are taking a computational biology approach to see how ALS affects molecules in the blood.
In a study published in Molecular Neurobiology, the team analyzed blood samples from about 300 people with and without ALS. The research focused on small non-coding ...
2025-04-25
As the opioid crisis continues, the number of babies born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) – a condition that affects infants whose mothers used opioids during pregnancy – has risen 5-fold over the past 20 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are 20,000 infants a year in the United States born with signs of NOWS. These infants often require extended hospital stays and, in some cases, treatment with medications like morphine to relieve withdrawal symptoms.
A new study from Walter Kraft, MD, an internist and clinical pharmacologist at Thomas Jefferson University, ...
2025-04-25
Leadership from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Volkswagen Group of America and Oak Ridge National Laboratory celebrated more than a decade of collaboration and the fifth anniversary of the Volkswagen Innovation Hub Knoxville on April 24. Since 2011, UT and Volkswagen have partnered on strategic research projects that have accelerated the discovery and commercialization of new technology, including battery performance, materials science, power electronics and mobility ...
2025-04-25
PHILADELPHIA – Even for patients covered by Medicare, annual out-of-pocket costs for lifesaving cancer treatments taken in pill form have often exceeded $10,000—until recently. Thanks to changes in Medicare Part D introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that took effect in 2025, annual out-of-pocket drug costs for all beneficiaries are now capped at $2,000. However, an overlooked voluntary program that’s part of the IRA could be the key to improving affordability for Medicare patients needing expensive oral cancer drugs, according to a new study from researchers ...
2025-04-25
Senescent skin cells, often referred to as zombie cells because they have outlived their usefulness without ever quite dying, have existed in the human body as a seeming paradox, causing inflammation and promoting diseases while also helping the immune system to heal wounds.
New findings may explain why: Not all senescent skin cells are the same.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have identified three subtypes of senescent skin cells with distinct shapes, biomarkers, and functions—an advance that could equip scientists with the ability to target and kill the harmful types while leaving the helpful ones intact.
The findings were published today ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Cercus electric stimulation enables cockroach with trajectory control and spatial cognition training
