Abstract

Insect navigation has been a focus of behavioural study for many
years, and provides a striking example of cognitive complexity in a
miniature brain. We have used computational modelling to bridge the gap
from behaviour to neural mechansims by relating the computational
requirements of navigational tasks to the type of computation offered by
invertebrate brain circuits. We have shown that visual memory of multiple
views could be acquired by associative learning in the mushroom body
neuropil, and allow insects to recapitulate long routes. We have also
proposed a circuit in the central complex neuropil that integrates sky
compass and optic flow information on an outbound path and can thus steer
the animal directly home. The models are strongly constrained by
neuroanatomy, and are tested in realistic agent and robot simulations.