Brain in Motion

An evolutionary perspective--from lampreys to humans--on how the forebrain coordinates movement while the networks in the brainstem and spinal cord handle the execution. All living creatures interact with their environment: even the most basic have a set of innate motor circuits they rely on to feed, locomote, fight, and flee. In The Brain in Motion, Sten Grillner describes the evolution of the motor repertoire of vertebrates, from protovertebrates to primates. With breadth and depth, Grillner explores how the brain uses the different microcircuits in the brainstem and spinal cord, coordinating them through commands from the forebrain. He also considers the normal function of the brain as a platform for understanding clinical conditions such as stroke, Parkinson s and Huntington s diseases, and spinal cord injury. Grillner also explains in The Brain in Motion how the remarkable finding that the lamprey forebrain has all the components of the mammalian one has radically changed