Academic Journal
The embodied brain: Bridging the brain, body, and behavior with biorealistic neuromechanical models.
| Title: | The embodied brain: Bridging the brain, body, and behavior with biorealistic neuromechanical models. |
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| Authors: | Wang-Chen S; Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: sibo.wang@epfl.ch., Ramdya P; Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: pavan.ramdya@epfl.ch. |
| Source: | Current opinion in neurobiology [Curr Opin Neurobiol] 2026 Oct; Vol. 100, pp. 103244. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jul 20. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article; Review |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Current Biology Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9111376 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-6882 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09594388 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Curr Opin Neurobiol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: London, UK : Current Biology, c1991- |
| MeSH Terms: | Brain*/physiology , Models, Neurological*, Biomechanical Phenomena/physiology ; Animals ; Humans ; Soft Computing |
| Abstract: | Animal behavior reflects interactions between the nervous system, body, and environment. Therefore, biomechanics and environmental context must be considered to understand algorithms for behavioral control. Computational models that embed artificial neural controllers within body models in simulated environments are a powerful tool for this purpose. Here, we review advances in biorealistic neuromechanical models while also highlighting emerging opportunities ahead. We first show how these models enable inference of biophysical variables that are difficult to measure experimentally. Through systematic perturbations, one can generate new experimentally testable hypotheses using these models. We then examine how neuromechanical models facilitate the exchange among neuroscience, robotics, and machine learning, and showcase their applications in healthcare. We envision that coupling experimental studies with active probing of their neuromechanical surrogates will significantly accelerate progress in neuroscience. (Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260720 Date Completed: 20260904 Latest Revision: 20260904 |
| Update Code: | 20260905 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.conb.2026.103244 |
| PMID: | 42475877 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1873-6882 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.conb.2026.103244 |