The vertebrate control of locomotion involves all levels of the nervous system from cortex to
the spinal cord. Here, we aim to cover all main aspects of this complex behavior, from the …

Locomotion is a universal motor behavior that is expressed as the output of many integrated
brain functions. Locomotion is organized at several levels of the nervous system, with …

Undulatory swimming represents an ideal behavior to investigate locomotion control and the
role of the underlying central and peripheral components in the spinal cord. Many vertebrate …

Descending command neurons instruct spinal networks to execute basic locomotor
functions, such as gait and speed. The command functions for gait and speed are symmetric …

The mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) is a brain stem area whose stimulation triggers
graded forward locomotion. How MLR neurons recruit downstream vsx2+(V2a) …

In Parkinson's disease (PD), the loss of midbrain dopaminergic cells results in severe
locomotor deficits, such as gait freezing and akinesia. Growing evidence indicates that these …

Vertebrate locomotion at different speeds is driven by descending excitatory connections to
central pattern generators in the spinal cord. To investigate how these inputs determine …

In 1966, Shik, Severin and Orlovskii discovered that electrical stimulation of a region at the
junction between the midbrain and hindbrain elicited controlled walking and running in the …

In vertebrates, dopamine neurons are classically known to modulate locomotion via their
ascending projections to the basal ganglia that project to brainstem locomotor networks. An …

Central pattern generators (CPGs) are generally defined as networks of neurons capable of
enabling the production of central commands, specifically controlling stereotyped, rhythmic …