Social Behavior of a Rhesus Monkey confronted to a VR model

Solaiman SHOKUR

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Presentation

• Introduction to Neuroprosthetics methodology (optional)

• Brain controlled monkey avatar (optional too)• Social Behavior of a Rhesus Monkey : State of the

art• Definition of the experiment • Hypothesis

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Motivation

Interface the Central nervous system

Collaboration with Medical Center at Duke University, Prof. M. Nicolelis

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Methodology Study on monkeys

Recording simultaneously:

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Cortical Signals Mocap

Methodology Study on monkeys

Recording simultaneously:

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Find correlations

Cortical Signals Mocap

Methodology Study on monkeys

Recording simultaneously:

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Find correlations

Cortical Signals Mocap

Predict motor activity from cortical signals

Methodology Study on monkeys

Recording simultaneously:

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Find correlations

Cortical Signals Mocap

Predict motor activity from cortical signals

Use the predictor to actuate a robotic device

Methodology Study on monkeys

Recording simultaneously:

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Find correlations

Cortical Signals Mocap

Predict motor activity from cortical signals

Use the predictor to actuate a robotic device

Full body brain computer interface

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Our Goal: - Predict full body motion using cortical signals

- Use it to control a monkey avatar

- Use the monkey avatar as a feedback for the real monkey

Open questions

- Is it possible to predict both upper limb and lower limb motor activity at the same time?

- Is a BCI easier to control if the visual feedback reproduces 3D movement of the subject?

- Does the VR based training facilitated the training for controlling neuroprosthetics?

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Monkey avatar

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

What we know?

• No evidence that Macaque recognize themselves in a mirror 1,2

• Social responses, as with chimpanzees3, are common4

• No literature on social responses when confronted to VR

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

1. G.G. Gallup, Jr., L.B. Wallnau, S.D. Suarez, 1980 Failure to Find Self-Recognition in Mother-Infant and Infant-Infant Rhesus Monkey Pairs

2. Gordon G. Gallup Jr. 1976, Absence of self-recognition in a monkey (Macaca fascicularis) following prolonged exposure to a mirror

3. Gallup, G. G., Jr., 1970. Chimpanzees: Self-recognition.4. Susan D. Suarez 1, Gordon G. Gallup Jr. 2, 1986, Social responding to mirrors in rhesus macaques

(Macaca mulatta): Effects of changing mirror location,

What we want to record

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

Detect: Interest, curiosity, positive negative reaction

When facing:

a)Black screen (baseline)

a)Fixed avatar

a)Moving skeleton

b)Moving avatar a) Facing (mirror)b) Back (third person)

What we expect

• The monkey will be curious• She will be attarct by the moving avatar and

skeleton• Social behaviour only with the monkey avatar• The fact that she can control and have specific

rewards, should keep curiosity longer than the mirror experiment (2 weeks)

• Question: would she considered it as an extension of herself or a “slave” that she controls?

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWERS

Body Perception & Self-Consciousness