Paul Grobstein (pgrobste at brynmawr.edu) wrote:
: > Brian Scott (scott at PSYCH.TORONTO.EDU) wrote:
: >
: > > I think this would be the place to ask such a question, so here it is.
: > >
: > > What are the current theories as to why the nervous system is mostly crossed?
: > > What are the benefits which are thought to be gained from such a setup?
In Caenorhabitus (sp?), the nervous system is crossed. It seems to have to
do with the way the beast is programmed to respond to stimuli. A sensory
contact on the right side 'means' that muscles on the opposite side should
contract. If your nervous system is built that way on the most primitive
level, it's a bit hard to get it uncrossed later.
--
Harry Erwin
Internet: herwin at gmu.edu
Just a dumb engineer working on Katchalsky nets....
