Reply to comment

Central pattern generators have got me thinking about certain psychological disorders, such as Tourette Syndrome. The tics associated with Tourette Syndrome can be quite complex and involve multiple sets of motor neurons. For example, the shoulders of a person with Tourette Syndrome might jerk while their torso twists. Or the person might have vocalized tics, such as saying obscenities or repeated clearing of the throat. The movements and vocalizations are not voluntary, so their complexity points to the existence of "motor scores", and thus central pattern generators. Is Tourette Syndrome explained by the dysregulation of different sets of central pattern generators? If so, what is the regulation pathway for central pattern generators in a "normal" nervous system? And what is responsible for the dysregulation in people with Tourette Syndrome?