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Order in Spontaneous Behavior

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  • Alexander Maye
  • Chih-hao Hsieh
  • George Sugihara
  • Björn Brembs

Abstract

Brains are usually described as input/output systems: they transform sensory input into motor output. However, the motor output of brains (behavior) is notoriously variable, even under identical sensory conditions. The question of whether this behavioral variability merely reflects residual deviations due to extrinsic random noise in such otherwise deterministic systems or an intrinsic, adaptive indeterminacy trait is central for the basic understanding of brain function. Instead of random noise, we find a fractal order (resembling Lévy flights) in the temporal structure of spontaneous flight maneuvers in tethered Drosophila fruit flies. Lévy-like probabilistic behavior patterns are evolutionarily conserved, suggesting a general neural mechanism underlying spontaneous behavior. Drosophila can produce these patterns endogenously, without any external cues. The fly's behavior is controlled by brain circuits which operate as a nonlinear system with unstable dynamics far from equilibrium. These findings suggest that both general models of brain function and autonomous agents ought to include biologically relevant nonlinear, endogenous behavior-initiating mechanisms if they strive to realistically simulate biological brains or out-compete other agents.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Maye & Chih-hao Hsieh & George Sugihara & Björn Brembs, 2007. "Order in Spontaneous Behavior," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 2(5), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0000443
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000443
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    1. Surya G Nurzaman & Yoshio Matsumoto & Yutaka Nakamura & Kazumichi Shirai & Satoshi Koizumi & Hiroshi Ishiguro, 2011. "From Lévy to Brownian: A Computational Model Based on Biological Fluctuation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(2), pages 1-11, February.
    2. Andrea Censi & Andrew D Straw & Rosalyn W Sayaman & Richard M Murray & Michael H Dickinson, 2013. "Discriminating External and Internal Causes for Heading Changes in Freely Flying Drosophila," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(2), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Kin Fai Ellick Wong & Cecilia Cheng, 2013. "Predictable or Not? Individuals’ Risk Decisions Do Not Necessarily Predict Their Next Ones," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(2), pages 1-5, February.
    4. Taro Ueno & Naoki Masuda & Shoen Kume & Kazuhiko Kume, 2012. "Dopamine Modulates the Rest Period Length without Perturbation of Its Power Law Distribution in Drosophila melanogaster," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(2), pages 1-12, February.
    5. Sepideh Bazazi & Frederic Bartumeus & Joseph J Hale & Iain D Couzin, 2012. "Intermittent Motion in Desert Locusts: Behavioural Complexity in Simple Environments," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(5), pages 1-10, May.
    6. Masato S Abe & Masakazu Shimada, 2015. "Lévy Walks Suboptimal under Predation Risk," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-16, November.

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