Development of human locomotion

Neural control of locomotion in human adults involves the generation of a small set of basic patterned commands directed to the leg muscles. The commands are generated sequentially in time during each step by neural networks located in the spinal cord, called Central Pattern Generators. This review outlines recent advances in understanding how motor commands are expressed at different stages of human development. Similar commands are found in several other vertebrates, indicating that locomotion development follows common principles of organization of the control networks. Movements show a high degree of flexibility at all stages of development, which is instrumental for learning and exploration of variable interactions with the environment.

► Locomotion is controlled by four basic patterned commands directed to all leg muscles. ► These commands are generated sequentially in time by spinal Central Pattern Generators. ► Humans are born with two commands and two others are added during the first year. ► Subsequent development involves fine-tuning the timing of all four commands. ► Surprisingly similar commands are found in several other vertebrates.