Deep neuroethology of a virtual rodent

Parallel developments in neuroscience and deep learning have led to mutually productive exchanges, pushing our understanding of real and artificial neural networks in sensory and cognitive systems. However, this interaction between fields is less developed in the study of motor control. In this work, we develop a virtual rodent as a platform for the grounded study of motor activity in artificial models of embodied control. We then use this platform to study motor activity across contexts by training a model to solve four complex tasks. Using methods familiar to neuroscientists, we describe the behavioral representations and algorithms employed by different layers of the network using a neuroethological approach to characterize motor activity relative to the rodent's behavior and goals. We find that the model uses two classes of representations which respectively encode the task-specific behavioral strategies and task-invariant behavioral kinematics. These representations are reflected in the sequential activity and population dynamics of neural subpopulations. Overall, the virtual rodent facilitates grounded collaborations between deep reinforcement learning and motor neuroscience.