The central pattern generator for locomotion in the spinal cord of the lamprey can be activated in vitro by the addition of D-glutamate to the bathing saline. Serotonin has no effects when bath-applied alone, but it modulates the D-glutamate-activated swimming pattern. Three major effects are observed: a dose-dependent reduction in the frequency of rhythmic ventral root burst discharge; enhance...

The dynamics of different ionic currents shape the bursting activity of neurons and networks that control motor output. Despite being ubiquitous in all animal cells, the contribution of the Na(+)/K(+) pump current to such bursting activity has not been well studied. We used monensin, a Na(+)/H(+) antiporter, to examine the role of the pump on the bursting activity of oscillator heart interneuro...

Nervous networks in the spinal marrow are capable to produce rhythmic movements, such as: swimming, jumping, and walking. These specialised nervous systems are known as central pattern generators (CPGs). Nonlinear oscillators can be used in control systems of locomotion as pattern generators similar to the pattern of human gait, providing the approach trajectories of the legs. The objective of ...

The basic locomotion and rhythm of stepping in walking animals like cockroaches mostly relies on a central pattern generator (CPG) [1], while their peripheral sensors are used to control walking behaviors [2]. By contrast, in stick insects, sensory feedback serving as reflexive mechanism plays a critical role in shaping the motor pattern for adaptivity and robustness of walking gaits [2]. Inspi...

Current research on discrete and rhythmic movements differs in both experimental procedures and theory, despite the ubiquitous overlap between discrete and rhythmic components in everyday behaviors. Models of rhythmic movements usually use oscillatory systems mimicking central pattern generators (CPGs). In contrast, models of discrete movements often employ optimization principles, thereby refl...

Humans have an extremely redundant system for locomotion. To handle the redundancy problem, humans use coordinative structures using conditions of constraint in their joint movements to reduce the number of degrees of freedom, which is called kinematic synergy. This chapter shows some characteristics in the kinematic synergy in human locomotion and shows a locomotion control system for a biped ...

We have built universal central pattern generator (CPG) hardware by interconnecting Hodgkin-Huxley neurons with reciprocally inhibitory synapses. We investigate the dynamics of neuron oscillations as a function of the time delay between current steps applied to individual neurons. We demonstrate stimulus dependent switching between spiking polyrhythms and map the phase portraits of the neuron o...

For a typical biologically inspired multi-segmental mechanical system, the system’s locomotion behavior is rectified from the segments’ rhythmic oscillation. A central pattern generator (CPG) based controller has been developed to achieve the locomotion with a certain sense of natural oscillation. We designed and manufactured a prototype mechanical rectifier (PMR) system which captures the esse...

In this paper, a general classification of the modular robots is proposed, based on their topology and the type of connection between the modules. The locomotion capabilities of the sub-group of pitch-yaw connecting robots are analyzed. Five different gaits have been implemented and tested on a real robot composed of eight modules. One of them, rotating, has not been previously achieved. All ga...

Animal rhythmic movements such as locomotion are considered to be controlled by neural circuits called central pattern generators (CPGs), which generate oscillatory signals. Motivated by such a biological mechanisms, rhythmic movements controlled by CPG has been studied. As an autonomous learning framework for the CPG controller, we propose an reinforcement learning method , which is called the...