Yoshikatsu Hayashi

His research is grounded in cybernetics, with a focus on bioelectricity as a fundamental mechanism for communication, regulation, and control in living systems. Electrical processes play a central role in coordinating activity across scales, linking cellular dynamics with neural function and whole-body behaviour. By integrating the physics of complex systems, neuroscience, behavioural science, and artificial intelligence, he investigates how adaptive behaviour emerges from closed-loop interactions between system and environment.

Key research themes include:

• Nonlinear dynamics governing adaptation and dysregulation in living systems
• Cybernetic control of cellular collectives, with a focus on tumour growth and organisation
• Brain–body feedback loops and sensorimotor coordination
• AI-driven navigation and control of self-organising systems for collective dynamics

A central aim of his research is to develop AI-enabled strategies for the navigation and control of self-organising biological systems using electrical stimulation as a key interface. Within a cybernetic framework, he studies how bioelectrical signals encode system states and coordinate collective dynamics, and how targeted modulation of these signals can steer spatio-temporal pattern formation toward desired functional outcomes. This includes guiding system-level organisation, disrupting maladaptive dynamics, and restoring functional behaviour in complex living systems.

In parallel, he studies whole-body coordination as a cybernetic system, exploring how brain networks encode motor control and cognition through continuous interaction with dynamic environments and social contexts. Building on these insights, he develops cybernetically informed assistive robotic systems for individuals with motor impairments, and bio-inspired robotic platforms that embody principles of adaptive control in complex environments.