Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Central pattern generators also contribute to locomotion in humans. In 1994, Calancie, et al. described the "first well-defined example of a central rhythm generator for stepping in the adult human." The subject was a 37-year-old male who suffered an injury to the cervical spinal cord 17 years prior.
The central pattern generators responsible for locomotion in vertebrates reside as half-center modules in the cervical and lumbar region of the spinal cord. Each CPG generates a basic motor output pattern that is responsible for the rhythmic contractions of flexor-extensor muscles that correspond to the forelimbs and hindlimbs. [3]
A motor program is an abstract metaphor of the central organization of movement and control of the many degrees of freedom involved in performing an action. Biologically realistic alternatives to the metaphor of the "motor program" are represented by central pattern generators .
The spinal cord executes rhythmical and sequential activation of muscles in locomotion. The central pattern generator (CPG) provides the basic locomotor rhythm and synergies by integrating commands from various sources that serve to initiate or modulate its output to meet the requirements of the environment.
Central pattern generators are neuronal circuits that—when activated—can produce rhythmic motor patterns in the absence of sensory or descending inputs that carry specific timing information. Examples are walking , breathing , and swimming , [ 75 ] Most evidence for central pattern generators comes from lower animals, such as the lamprey ...
A central pattern generator (CPG) is defined as a neural network that does not require sensory input to generate a rhythm. This rhythm can be used to regulate essential physiological processes. These networks are often found in the spinal cord.
In a parallel after-discharge circuit, a neuron inputs to several chains of neurons. Each chain is made up of a different number of neurons but their signals converge onto one output neuron. Each synapse in the circuit acts to delay the signal by about 0.5 msec, so that the more synapses there are, the longer is the delay to the output neuron.
This swimming response seems to be a fixed action pattern mediated by a central pattern generator since it does not require sensory feedback for physical and temporal maintenance. [ 2 ] [ 8 ] [ 12 ] Modulation and plasticity of the response