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.