normal gait
All of the following are required to be intact: motor function
, balance, postural reflexes, sensory function and sensorimotor integration,
motor control, the musculoskeletal apparatus and cardiopulmonary
functions.
Afferent nerves from the visual, vestibular and proprioceptive systems
provide essential information on the position of the body and its parts.
A centrally integrating system, areas in the frontal cortex, the
basal ganglia, the brain stem and the cerebellum, interprets the information
received and selects the motor programs required for walking.
The efferent system→ descending pathways including the pyramidal
tract, peripheral nerves, neuromuscular end plate and muscles. To some
degree, rhythmic gait can also be sustained by spinal centers,
NB- In primates, brain stem centers have a central role in generating
automatic walking, in particular the so-called midbrain locomotor cente