Mammal brains may use the same circuits to control tongues and limbs

Precise control of the tongue is often vital in life, from the way frogs capture flies to human speech (SN: 1/31/17). But much remains unknown about how the brain controls the tongue, given how its quick motions are difficult to track. Now, experiments show that the brain circuits in mice that help the tongue lick water may be the same ones that help primates reach out to grasp objects, scientists report online May 19 in Nature.

Using high-speed video, neuroscientist Tejapratap Bollu and colleagues recorded the sides and bottoms of mouse tongues as the rodents drank from a waterspout. With the help of artificial intelligence to develop 3-D simulations

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