Llinás's law

Llinás's law is the principle that the brain generates motor activity intrinsically, while sensory input primarily modifies and guides that activity. It treats movement as an expression of ongoing neural dynamics rather than a response built from sensory input alone.

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Central pattern generator: A neural circuit that produces patterned activity, such as rhythmic movement, without requiring rhythmic sensory input. These circuits exemplify motor patterns generated within the nervous system.
Neural oscillation: A recurring pattern of neural activity that varies rhythmically over time. Intrinsic oscillations are one proposed basis for the brain's self-generated activity.
Rodolfo Llinás: A Colombian-American neuroscientist known for research on cerebellar function and the intrinsic electrical properties of neurons. He formulated the principle and developed its broader account of brain function.
Parkinson's disease: A neurodegenerative disorder marked by loss of dopamine-producing neurons and characteristic motor symptoms. Altered neural rhythms in Parkinson's disease illustrate how intrinsic activity can disrupt movement.
Reflex theory: An account of behavior that explains movement as chains of stimulus-triggered reflexes. It contrasts with the claim that movement can originate in intrinsic neural activity.
Thalamocortical oscillation: Rhythmic activity arising from interactions between the thalamus and cerebral cortex. Llinás emphasized these intrinsic rhythms as part of the brain's ongoing activity.
Motor control: The processes by which the nervous system organizes and regulates movement. Llinás's law reframes motor control as internally generated and sensory-modulated.
Hubel and Wiesel: David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel were neuroscientists who studied visual processing and receptive fields in the cerebral cortex. Their influential sensory-driven framework contrasts with Llinás's emphasis on intrinsic activity.
Deep brain stimulation: A treatment that delivers electrical pulses through implanted electrodes to targeted brain regions. Its effects on abnormal rhythms make it relevant to theories of intrinsic neural dynamics.
Stimulus-response model: A model that explains behavior as a response elicited by an external stimulus. Llinás's principle rejects this as a complete explanation of motor activity.