Decoding the Neural Mechanisms Underlying Locomotion Using Mathematical Models and Bio-inspired Robots: From Lamprey to Human Locomotion

摘要

Understanding animal locomotion is a complex problem because locomotion is the result of a complex interaction between multiple components [1]. At an abstract level, four different components can be distinguished: the musculoskeletal system, sensory feedback loops in the spinal cord, central pattern generators CPGs (neural circuits that can produce rhythmic patterns without receiving rhythmic inputs), and descending modulation from higher control centers (such as the basal ganglia, the cerebellum, and the motor cortex in mammals).