Central Pattern Generators are networks of neurons that allow vertebrates to perform certain types of movement without the involvement of the brain. In humans, a CPG is thought to produce walking motions. A CPG in chickens allows them to run around after their heads are cut off. Inspired by CPGs and Lucy Liu, researcher Jimmy Or of the Humanoid Research Institute at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan has used software that simulates the CPG of a lamprey (possibly the Ekeberg / Ijspeert lamprey CPG?) to build a robot that can belly dance. The full story appears in a recent Nature Science Update. For more on CPGs, see Central Pattern Generators (PDF format) by Scott L. Hooper.