THE BRAIN HAS A BODY - ADAPTIVE-BEHAVIOR EMERGES FROM INTERACTIONS OFNERVOUS-SYSTEM, BODY AND ENVIRONMENT

Studies of mechanisms of adaptive behavior generally focus on neurons and circuits. But adaptive behavior also depends on interactions among the nervous system, body and environment: sensory preprocessing and m otor post-processing filter inputs to and outputs from the nervous sys tem; co-evolution and co-development of nervous system and periphery c reate matching and complementarity between them; body structure create s constraints and opportunities for neural control; and continuous fee dback between nervous system, body and environment are essential for n ormal behavior. This broader view of adaptive behavior has been a majo r underpinning of ecological psychology and has influenced behavior-ba sed robotics. Computational neuroethology, which jointly models neural control and periphery of animals, is a promising methodology for unde rstanding adaptive behavior.