Now that we know that CPG's exist and that they may be genetically based, many details of the intricacies of behavior are falling into place. I think we are at a crucial point in class that really is the whole reason why I decided to take it in the first place. I knew of neurons and action potentials and things but I really did not know how any of this could lead to teh complex behaviors that we all experience every minute of the day. My questions about why we can learnto ride a bike so fluidly after having mastered it once can now be explained by CPG. It is not necessarily the we were wired to ride a bike but a motor symphony was being written while we were learning to ride a bike and now we can ride it without thinking twice about it. Our mucles know the movement so well that we can balance on two wheels and navigate etc without realy concentrating on the task at hand. Knowing about teh involvement of Genetics is very helpful in understanding complex behaviors such as walking and flying in birds. It just provides more evidence for the nature-nurture theory. I am not saying that we are more one or the other but that this is yet another piece of evidence that we are indeed programmed to do certain things at certain stages in our lives. And there are also other things that may be learned that become so fluid over time that it itself becomes a motor symphony inexplicable through simple sensory input--output mechanisms (like piano playing). I am really looking forward to learning how the CPG is stored and how it works in terms of neurons.
Nice extensions to other behaviors, glad to works for you. CPG indeed probably some part of riding a bicycle, but so too is something quite different and equally interested: an improved ability (probably) to make use of sensory input for the task at hand. And yes, not nature OR nurture but contributions from both in most cases. PG