Walking elicits muscle functional changes in the pectoral fin of Polypterus senegalus.

ABSTRACT: Amphibious fishes are often used as models to help understand how early aquatic vertebrates overcame the mechanical and physical challenges posed by a terrestrial environment. The differences in posture and loading required on land affect fin function and, over longer durations, may elicit changes in muscle and tissue composition, altering performance. How the motor control patterns of fin muscles change in a walking gait is not known but may help explain the changes in bone remodelling and muscle fibre type that occur in Polypterus senegalus, when exercised or kept in a terrestrial environment. This study quantified instantaneous motor activation changes in all four fin muscle groups involved in the terrestrial walking gait in P. senegalus. We discovered that increases in the operating le

SUBMITTER: Liang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12633731 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature