Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) are neural networks that can produce coordinated patterns of rhythmic activity to orchestrate repetitive behaviors such as feeding, locomotion, and respiration. CPGs are known to be composed of phylogenetically conserved connectional units that are typically organized into chains to enable coordinated activation of the effector organs (muscles). Through integration of experimental and computational approaches at the cellular and network levels, essential connectional elements of CPGs have been revealed (Grillner 2006).
Network Topology: At the connectional level, a CPG network consists of “unit CPGs” representing the nodes of the network, and the reciprocal connections between unit CPGs correspond to the branches of the network. Physiologically, a unit CPG represents a group of neurons that can generate a recurrent burst of activity (Grillner 2006).
Simple inputs such as tonic excitation can produce rhythmic outputs in these networks. Increasing the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Buchanan JT (1992) Neural network simulations of coupled locomotor oscillators in the lamprey spinal cord. Biol Cybern 66:367–374
Collins JJ, Richmond SA (1994) Hard-wired central pattern generators for quadrupedal locomotion. Biol Cybern 71:375–385
Grillner S, Kozlov A, Kotaleski JH (2005) Integrative neuroscience: linking levels of analyses. Curr Opin Neurobiol 15:614–621
Grillner S (2006) Biological pattern generation: the cellular and computational logic of networks in motion. Neuron 52:751–766
Ijspeert AJ (2008) Central pattern generators for locomotion control in animals and robots: a review. Neural Netw 21:642–653
Jung R, Kiemel T, Cohen AH (1996) Dynamic behavior of a neural network model of locomotor control in the lamprey. J Neurophysiol 75(3):1074–1086
Nasse J, Terman D, Venugopal S, Hermann G, Rogers R, Travers JB (2008) Local circuit input to the medullary reticular formation from the rostral nucleus of the solitary tract. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 295(5):R1391–R1408
Prinz AA, Bucher D, Marder E (2004) Similar network activity from disparate circuit parameters. Nat Neurosci 7(12):1345–1352
Venugopal S, Travers JB, Terman DH (2007) A computational model for motor pattern switching between taste-induced ingestion and rejection oromotor behaviors. J Comput Neurosci 22(2):223–238
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Venugopal, S. (2014). Connectionist Models of CPG Networks. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_122-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_122-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences