Quick Answer. The function of motor neurons is to release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which are released at a junction known as the neuromuscular junction, that bind to postsynaptic receptors, causing the muscle fiber to respond and result into a muscle movement.
Adapted from The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us From Other Animals by Thomas Suddendorf, out now from Basic Books. Like many a scholar before and since, Bertrand Russell confidently asserts that certain traitsâspeech, fire, agriculture, writing, tools, and large-scale cooperationâset humans apart from animals. Although we appear to excel in many domains, such claims are not typically founded in any thorough comparison.
(CESAR MANSO/AFP/Getty Images). Humans are clearly distinct from the rest of the animal kingdom yet, scientifically speaking, it's difficult to say exactly why. Thomas Suddendorf takes a look at how mankind achieved its position of global dominance and what that means for the future of our species and the planet.