Most mammals have neurons in the spine, stomach, and other local areas, not just the brain. It would make sense for some tailed animals to have some neurons in the tail, since the spinal cord is connected to the spinal column and the central nervous system. It would also make sense then that mammals with the longest tails have a higher probability of having neurons on their tails, and also more neurons on their tails than those mammalian species that do have neurons on their tails. Let’s discuss this.
I would like to use the cheetah as an example in the sense that cheetahs appear to have neurons in the tail, as the tail has memory (more than just muscle memory, although it does have a significant muscular system in the tail), and is used as a Balance circling as the cheetah makes impossible turns of breakneck speed and changes direction to chase its prey. Read; “Balance in the cat: role of the tail and effects of the sacrocaudal section”, by Curt Walker, Charles J. Vierck Jr., Louis A. Ritz, 1997.
In humans, our spinal cord runs from the base of the skull to our tail bones. Neurons are present in the H-shaped area of the spinal vertebrae. Sensory neurons interact with motor neurons through internerurons; we see it in our reflections. When a cheetah can wag its tail at super high speeds to keep its balance, all of this seems to happen by reflex, which the cheetah could control with a determined movement, much like a horse can swat flies on its rump with its tail.
Let me ramble for a moment and explain a species of reptile. Perhaps even more interesting is the reality that the Gecko lizard sheds its tail when captured by a predator, and the tail keeps moving like a decoy that keeps the predator busy, thinking that it still has its prey and therefore the Gecko. keep running, living. To fight another day Read an article on Discovery News; “Gecko Tail Preprogrammed to Fool Predators” by Jennifer Viegas, published September 9, 2009.
You know that it seems certain that evolution will find the best strategies to solve problems, especially those that concern matters of life and death, thus allowing members of the species to procreate their next generation and continue as a species, inability to solve such problems. – overtime – means that the species will not continue. A cheetah’s ability to catch prey and eat is a matter of life and death, and I suppose evolution has given this species neurons in its tail to allow it to spin on a dime at speeds of up to 60 mph. , and it has neurons in the tail that better allow it to do that. Please consider all of this and do your research if you can.