Chia-yu Hsu, Tulane University


An integrated muscle mechanic-fluid dynamic model of lamprey swimming

Abstract: In an effort towards a detailed understanding of the generation and control of vertebrate locomotion, including the role of the central pattern generator (CPG) and its interactions with reflexive feedback, muscle mechanics, and external fluid dynamics, we study a simple vertebrate, the lamprey. Lamprey body undulations are a result of a wave of neural activation that passes from head to tail, causing a wave of muscle activation. These active forces are mediated by passive structural forces. We present recent results from a model that fully couples a viscous, incompressible fluid with nonlinear muscle mechanics. We measure the dependence of the phase lag between activation wave and mechanical wave as a function of model parameters, such as body stiffness and muscle strength. Simulation results are compared to experiments utilizing both real and synthetic lamprey.

Collaborators: Eric Tytell (University of Maryland), Lisa Fauci (Tulane University)