this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2024
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Science

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Researchers found mice have special neurons that sense disturbances to their fur, causing them to shake and groom themselves when wet.

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[–] AbouBenAdhem 6 points 1 day ago

My guess is that shaking dry is most effective if done at a speed too fast for normal motor control, so there’s a dedicated neural circuit that bypasses the motor cortex.

[–] FourPacketsOfPeanuts 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Doesn't everything we do have "special neurons". Isn't that what neurons are for? Isn't the fact that neurons trigger this behaviour entirely not special?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think they mean 'special' like 'dedicated'. There are neurons dedicated to this job. They are special amongst other neurons.

[–] FourPacketsOfPeanuts 1 points 1 day ago

Mice have something like 70 million neurons in their brain. They're not exactly engaging in abstract thought. Everything a mouse does easily has hundreds of thousands of dedicated neurons..

Just seems like the usual pop sci sensational title nonsense..