Simulated zebrafish and vision-equipped robot fish reveal how the body shapes brain circuits
DoctorJosh · x · 2026-09-11
A joint team from EPFL, Duke University, and Instituto Superior Técnico published in Science Robotics a study using a physics-based larval zebrafish simulation plus a biomimetic, vision-equipped robot fish that autonomously swims upstream.
- Motivation: rewiring neural connections in living animals is nearly impossible, so simulation and robots offer an interventional alternative
- The team replicated the zebrafish body and known neural circuit architectures, letting the robot navigate using only vision and bio-inspired circuits
- The work identified the minimal neural components for the optomotor response (OMR) and showed how body shape shapes brain circuit wiring
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