Understanding the function and development of neuronal circuits is one of the major goals in neuroscience. Finding general principles of neuronal network architecture is essential to accomplish this goal. Despite the accumulating knowledge in a wide variety of circuits, it still remains elusive if there are such general principles. In search of such principles of neuronal networks, we found a relatively simple pattern throughout the hindbrain that contains variety of sensory-motor circuits in larval zebrafish. Neurons are arranged into stripes that represent broad neuronal classes that differ in transmitter identity, morphology and transcription factor expression. Within the stripes, neurons are organized according to their birth time as previously reported in spinal cord; older neurons have lower input resistance and are recruited during fast movements while younger have higher input resistance and are active in slow ones. Furthermore, the extent and location of axonal projections differ across age groups. To see how this general patterning is used in functional circuits, I mapped hindbrain-spinal cord networks involved in fast and slow locomotion, the Mauthner and MiV1 circuits respectively, and examined their age, recruitment patterns and connectivity. I found each component of the networks arises from a predictable stripe and age group supporting the notion that the stripe patterning is the foundation of a variety of circuits in hindbrain. Furthermore, I found preferential connectivity among neurons in similar age groups. I will discuss the principles of neuronal network construction that emerge from these findings and their explanatory power in other systems.