Tadpoles achieve normal frog faces despite organ misplacement

Empirical example of regulative development: when craniofacial organs are positioned abnormally, they reposition via non-natural paths until correct frog face is achieved.

Source paper

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The computational boundary of a 'self': developmental bioelectricity drives multicellularity and scale-free cognition

(2019) · Levin M

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Communities (3)

community

Bioelectric morphogenesis & anatomical intelligence
members_of
Levin-led research showing bioelectric signals encode and control anatomical goal states in living systems.
Bioelectric code and anatomical goal-setting
members_of
Xenopus studies showing ion channel patterns direct cell collectives toward specific anatomical outcomes independent of genetic or positional cues, led by Michael Levin.
Bioelectric pattern control of morphogenesis
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Studies how organisms achieve correct anatomy despite disrupted cell organization, using xenopus models to examine non-genetic developmental constraints.

Concepts (1)

concept

Regulative Development
supports
Property of embryos to achieve invariant species-specific morphology despite drastic perturbations and abnormal starting conditions, revealing goal-directed cellular coordination.

Related by similarity (8)

cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edge

Entities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.

Tadpoles with displaced craniofacial organs can still develop normal face through organ movement.finding0.877
From Vandenberg et al. (2012) and Pinet et al. (2019), reveals regulative morphogenesis.
Xenopus tadpoles with scrambled craniofacial structures rearrange to form normal frog faces.finding0.862
From Vandenberg et al. 2012; demonstrates anatomical homeostasis beyond hardwired movements.
Tadpoles with scrambled craniofacial organ positions (Picasso tadpoles) develop into largely normal frogs.finding0.859
When eyes, nostrils, and jaws were mispositioned, they moved via novel trajectories and stopped upon reaching correct frog face positions, demonstrating anatomical homeostasis.
Developing Xenopus tadpoles can attain normal anatomical outcome despite starting with craniofacial organs scrambled or with wrong number of cells.finding0.844
Evidence of morphogenetic problem-solving and anatomical homeostasis across serious perturbations; demonstrates collective intelligence in development.
Scrambled tadpole craniofacial tissue rearranges into normal frog anatomy from novel starting configurationsfinding0.818
Evidence that morphogenesis pursues a specific target state (goal) rather than executing a fixed sequence of steps.
Tadpoles with eyes transplanted to tail location perform visual learning tasks normally despite altered sensory anatomy.finding0.816
Evidence of neural plasticity; demonstrates mind's independence from specific body layout.
Tadpoles with ectopic eyes on their tails can see out of them, demonstrating radical functional plasticity without evolutionary adaptation.claim0.816
Example of innate problem-solving capacity.
Tadpoles with ectopic eyes on tail can see and integrate sensory input from aberrant locationfinding0.806
Demonstrates neural plasticity: brain adapts behavioral programs to sensory input from abnormal anatomical locations within single organism lifetime.