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From day one, a frog’s developing brain is calling the shots

In brainless frog embryos, muscle and nerve growth goes haywire

tadpole

BUSY BRAIN The still-forming brain of a frog sends important messages to the body. When the brain is missing, the body doesn’t develop properly, a new study suggests.

Jason Mintzer/Shutterstock

By Laura Sanders

- More than 2 years ago

Frog brains get busy long before they’re fully formed. Just a day after fertilization, embryonic brains begin sending signals to far-off places in the body, helping oversee the layout of complex patterns of muscles and nerve fibers.