A computer model shows that a starfish-like animal can coordinate rhythmic motion based on body structure without their brain instructing them to do so. This provides insights useful for physiology and robotics, claim researchers.Scientists have found that green brittle stars with five arms show a different "pumping" movement pattern than those with six arms. Using a mathematical model, they have shown that such movements can be coordinated by the flow of internal body fluid alone, rather than neuronal activity, according to the study published in the journal of Scientific Reports.Animals constantly make rhythmic movements such as breathing, feeding and walking. Physiological studies and robotics have shown that neuronal activity and physical structure, respectively, are involved in coordinating those movements. However, how physical structure affects such movement in animals is unknown.A team consisting of Hitoshi Aonuma, Daiki Wakita, and Yumino Hayase studied the green brittle star
