In addition to skill acquisition through the use of learning techniques, an alum of our lab, Chris Connolly and Brian Burns have been working on a model of striatum function (Connolly and Burns, 1993). The basic model postulates that an equilibrium-style computation takes place in the functional units of the striatum. This is a direct correlate of the harmonic function computation used for robot control. This computation could be carried out via electrotonic coupling (gap junctions). This hypothesis arises from recent evidence of dye-coupling among striatal primary neurons, plus the fact that these neurons rarely fire (raising the possibility of passive computation).

See the lab publications for more details.

For general information about neuroscience, see the the Neurosciences Internet Resource Guide. You can also try the Marine Biological Laboratory.