Development of rhythmic pattern generators

In contrast to the wealth of knowledge about the organizational rules of ad ult central pattern generators, far less is known about how these networks are assembled during development. The basic architecture for adult central pattern generators appears early in development but different generators ma y follow completely different developmental pathways to reach maturity. Rec ent evidence suggests that neuromodulatory inputs, in addition to their sho rt-term adaptive control of central pattern generator activity, play a cruc ial role in both the final developmental tuning and the long-term maintenan ce of adult network function.