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S. Grlllner et al.-LamPrev locomotor network REVIEW locomotion. In a mammal, hundreds of muscles are involved, each of which is activated during a particular phase of the movement cycle. In all vertebrates, the co-ordination of these muscles is produced by spinal networks that are referred to as central pattern generators’,’(CPGs). The level of activity of these CPGs is controlled from reticulospinal neurones, which project from the lower brainstem to the spinal cord. The higher the level of activity in these reticulospinal neurones, the faster the animal will locomote. This type of general organization, that also includes sensory modulation, applies to all vertebrates from fish to tetrapods, such as reptiles and mammals (including primates). If the nervous system is to be understood in a mechanistic perspective, these networks must be understood in terms of interacting nerve cells, transmitters and membrane properties …