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Sensory feedback in cockroach locomotion: current knowledge and open questions

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Abstract

The American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, provides a successful model for the study of legged locomotion. Sensory regulation and the relative importance of sensory feedback vs. central control in animal locomotion are key aspects in our understanding of locomotive behavior. Here we introduce the cockroach model and describe the basic characteristics of the neural generation and control of walking and running in this insect. We further provide a brief overview of some recent studies, including mathematical modeling, which have contributed to our knowledge of sensory control in cockroach locomotion. We focus on two sensory mechanisms and sense organs, those providing information related to loading and unloading of the body and the legs, and leg-movement-related sensory receptors, and present evidence for the instrumental role of these sensory signals in inter-leg locomotion control. We conclude by identifying important open questions and indicate future perspectives.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by BSF grant No. 2011059 (AA and PH), and by NSF-CRCNS DMS-1430077 and Princeton University under the J. Insley Blair Pyne Fund (EC-F and PH).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    A. Ayali, E. Couzin-Fuchs, I. David, O. Gal & D. Knebel

  2. Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    A. Ayali & D. Knebel

  3. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    E. Couzin-Fuchs & P. Holmes

  4. Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics and Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    P. Holmes

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  1. A. Ayali
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Ayali, A., Couzin-Fuchs, E., David, I. et al. Sensory feedback in cockroach locomotion: current knowledge and open questions. J Comp Physiol A 201, 841–850 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-014-0968-1

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