Material below summarizes the article Organization of the Mammalian Locomotor CPG: Review of Computational Model and Circuit Architectures Based on Genetically Identified Spinal Interneurons, published on September 8, 2015, in eNeuro and authored by Ilya A. Rybak, Kimberly J. Dougherty, and Natalia A. Shevtsova.
Locomotion represents motor behaviors that allow animals to move in physical environment. In legged animals, including mammals, locomotion results from coordinated rhythmic movements of limbs interacting with the ground. As in other rhythmic behaviors, such as breathing or scratching, locomotion is controlled by central neural circuits referred to as central pattern generators (CPGs). The CPGs are able to autonomously generate basic rhythmic activity without rhythmic inputs from the higher brain areas and without afferent feedback.
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