The idea of a motor symphony and a central pattern generator causes me to think about behavior differently by giving a form to the physical complexity of it. It is one thing to say that behavior is a complicated thing and that every motion involves most muscles in the body. It is another to say that there is a stored catalog of movements that each muscle must make in order to do these movements. It also makes learning new motions and coordinations seem much more complex. For instance, it causes me to wonder at such things as learning a new dance step, or a new play for sports.

This also explains problems with behavior following strokes or brain damage. If the areas of the brain controlling the motor symphony or containing the central pattern are damaged, it follows that the motion must be 're-learned.' This re-learning seems as if it would be even more complicated considering the permanent damage to that area that might cause difficulty in re-forming any patterns. Not only is the score erased, the paper which it must be written upon is damaged. This helps me to understand the reasons for problems in coordination following brain damage.

Nice thoughts, both of them. Yes, CPG's give one a way to specify the complexity in terms of its subunits. And indeed explain why one might lose some behaviors while retaining others in cases of brain damage. PG