article published yes Ralf Der author Georg S Martius author 3A276B68-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87 ChLa department GaTk department International IST Postdoc Fellowship Programme project Grounding autonomous behavior in the nervous system is a fundamental challenge for neuroscience. In particular, self-organized behavioral development provides more questions than answers. Are there special functional units for curiosity, motivation, and creativity? This paper argues that these features can be grounded in synaptic plasticity itself, without requiring any higher-level constructs. We propose differential extrinsic plasticity (DEP) as a new synaptic rule for self-learning systems and apply it to a number of complex robotic systems as a test case. Without specifying any purpose or goal, seemingly purposeful and adaptive rhythmic behavior is developed, displaying a certain level of sensorimotor intelligence. These surprising results require no systemspecific modifications of the DEP rule. They rather arise from the underlying mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking,which is due to the tight brain body environment coupling. The new synaptic rule is biologically plausible and would be an interesting target for neurobiological investigation. We also argue that this neuronal mechanism may have been a catalyst in natural evolution. National Academy of Sciences2015 eng 26504200 00036447030002010.1073/pnas.1508400112 11245E6224 - E6232 Der R, Martius GS. 2015. Novel plasticity rule can explain the development of sensorimotor intelligence. PNAS. 112(45), E6224–E6232. R. Der, G.S. Martius, PNAS 112 (2015) E6224–E6232. Der, Ralf, and Georg S Martius. “Novel Plasticity Rule Can Explain the Development of Sensorimotor Intelligence.” <i>PNAS</i>. National Academy of Sciences, 2015. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508400112">https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508400112</a>. Der R, Martius GS. Novel plasticity rule can explain the development of sensorimotor intelligence. <i>PNAS</i>. 2015;112(45):E6224-E6232. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508400112">10.1073/pnas.1508400112</a> R. Der and G. S. Martius, “Novel plasticity rule can explain the development of sensorimotor intelligence,” <i>PNAS</i>, vol. 112, no. 45. National Academy of Sciences, pp. E6224–E6232, 2015. Der, R., &#38; Martius, G. S. (2015). Novel plasticity rule can explain the development of sensorimotor intelligence. <i>PNAS</i>. National Academy of Sciences. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508400112">https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508400112</a> Der, Ralf, and Georg S. Martius. “Novel Plasticity Rule Can Explain the Development of Sensorimotor Intelligence.” <i>PNAS</i>, vol. 112, no. 45, National Academy of Sciences, 2015, pp. E6224–32, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1508400112">10.1073/pnas.1508400112</a>. 15702018-12-11T11:52:47Z2025-09-23T09:41:37Z