Electric pulse trains are like pets

Scientists have discovered a very effective way to teach cockroaches to browse the maze and potentially transform these common insects into valuable disaster area search agents.

Researchers from Beijing Institute of Technology show that mild electrical stimulation applied to cockroaches (the sensory organs at its back end) can not only guide their movement, but also help form strong spatial memory, allowing insects to learn mazes as efficiently as they have ever been.

“To study the effect of sensory organ electrical stimulation on insect memory formation, during training, the CERCI of cockroaches was stimulated with electrical signals, thereby inducing them to transfer them to specific maze channels before making autonomous decisions.”

The study, published in the cyborg and bionic systems, showed that cockroaches needed only five training courses to develop a strong preference for specific maze pathways and obtained a significant memory score of 83.5%, significantly outperforming traditional training methods that use punishment to shape behavior.

Training involves Madagascar’s hissing cockroach equipped with a tiny wireless stimulation device weighing only 675 mg, which is enough to not hinder the natural movement of the insects. Through careful testing, the researchers determined that the 100 Hz electrical pulse produced the optimal steering response, causing the cockroach to rotate about 70 degrees in the desired direction.

What makes this approach groundbreaking is its impact on memory formation. Although scientists have previously used electrical stimulation to control insect movement, this is the first study that shows that this stimulation can also enhance spatial learning and memory.

“We demonstrated that cockroaches completed spatial learning after only five training sessions. Electrical-induced training performed more than traditional punishment-based training in electrically induced training.”

This steering-based learning proved to be very stable among different cockroaches, with all test subjects experiencing a preference for the correct labyrinth path in short-term tests – more consistent than traditional training methods using thermal or electrical punishment, in which case individual differences often lead to variable outcomes.

The meaning goes far beyond merely controlling insect movement. Cockroaches have excellent odor detection, spatial discrimination and visual recognition capabilities. By combining these natural talents with enhanced learning abilities, researchers may develop complex environments that can detect survivors in collapsed buildings, identify hazardous substances, or navigate complex environments that are too dangerous to humans.

The researchers plan to expand this work by combining sensory cues with electrical stimulation to enhance cockroaches’ ability to recognize environmental features, visual information, and odors, so that they can create insects that can find specific odors or materials in the real world.

This innovative approach bridges the gap between remotely controlled robotic insects and trained insects, creating a hybrid that combines the accuracy of electrical control with the adaptability of learning – taking insect allies one step closer in our most challenging search and rescue operations.

Related