Finely tuned nervous systems allowed birds and mammals to adopt smoother strides

[PhysOrg]

Since the 1900s, neuroscientists have known that the peripheral nervous systems of tetrapods (four-footed animals) vary greatly, but how these differences affect the way that animals walk, run, or move has not been well understood. Now, a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology on January 27, authored by a New York Institute of Technology anatomy professor, suggests that neuromuscular adaptations in mammals and birds may have allowed them to become more nimble than reptiles and amphibians.

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