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Neural Control of Vertebrate Locomotion - Central Mechanisms and Reflex Interaction with Special Reference to the Cat

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Feedback and Motor Control in Invertebrates and Vertebrates

Abstract

How the nervous systems of vertebrates make their respective bodies swim or walk is the subject of this paper. Our knowledge has increased markedly over the last decades. The movements of a walking mammal in its natural habitat depend upon a precise adaptation of each step to the terrain and the overall goal of the animal. Each species generates its characteristic type of propulsive locomotor movements, here referred to as the basic locomotor synergy. This article deals with how this synergy is generated and, in particular, with the interaction between sensory and central elements of the control system in cat. The complex mechanisms underlying the precise movements necessary to place the foot on a predetermined spot in each step are only now starting to become unravelled (see Chapter 28 by Dr Forssberg) and will not be dealt with here.

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Authors
  1. S. Grillner
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK

    W. J. P. Barnes BSc, PhD

  2. Institute of Physiology, University of Glasgow, UK

    M. H. Gladden MB, BS, PhD, MRCS(Eng), LRCP(Lond), DCH

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© 1985 W.J.P. Barnes and M.H. Gladden

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Grillner, S. (1985). Neural Control of Vertebrate Locomotion - Central Mechanisms and Reflex Interaction with Special Reference to the Cat. In: Barnes, W.J.P., Gladden, M.H. (eds) Feedback and Motor Control in Invertebrates and Vertebrates. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7084-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-7084-0_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-011-7086-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-7084-0

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