From 'understanding the brain by creating the brain' towards manipulative neuroscience

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Robotics
• Systems Biology

Background:

• The Japanese 'Century of the Brain' initiative promoted understanding the brain.
• A key objective is the 'creating the brain' approach, using humanoid robots as neuroscience tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand neural mechanisms by creating humanoid robots that solve tasks using human brain principles.
• To rigorously understand the brain through the 'Understanding the Brain by Creating the Brain' paradigm.

Main Methods:

• Application of humanoid robots as a tool in neuroscience.
• Introduction of several humanoid robots and their demonstrations.
• Development of theoretical models for cerebellar internal models and synaptic plasticity.

Main Results:

• Experimental support for models of cerebellar internal models and systems biology of cerebellar synaptic plasticity.
• The systems biology model is more easily verifiable than the cerebellar internal model theory.
• Identification of experimental manipulation challenges at the system level in neuroscience.

Conclusions:

• The 'creating the brain' approach offers a rigorous path to understanding neural mechanisms.
• A new experimental paradigm, 'manipulative neuroscience,' is proposed to address system-level research challenges.
• Manipulative neuroscience aims to establish cause-and-effect relationships at the system level.