#Yes.

For large animals, octopuses are a possible source of inspiration. They have neurons in their arms, which lets them have a very large brain-to-body ratio. This does let their arms move without as much direct control from the brain.

You could also argue that this sort of structure can be found in leeches. They don't really have 32 brains, one inside each body segment, but they do have one ganglion per body segment, which in a sense exerts local control over that segment. Each ganglion cannot operate independently from the others - that is, it's not like there are 32 individual nervous systems working in unison.

Keep in mind that the segmented structure of the leech is what makes this sort of thing evolutionarily possible. You're probably not going to see this arise in animals like humans, for instance, because there's simply no need. A centralized organ is much simpler than miscellaneous localized ones.

Yes.

For large animals, octopuses are a possible source of inspiration. They have neurons in their arms, which lets them have a very large brain-to-body ratio. This does let their arms move without as much direct control from the brain.

You could also argue that this sort of structure can be found in leeches. They don't really have 32 brains, one inside each body segment, but they do have one ganglion per body segment, which in a sense exerts local control over that segment. Each ganglion cannot operate independently from the others - that is, it's not like there are 32 individual nervous systems working in unison.

Keep in mind that the segmented structure of the leech is what makes this sort of thing evolutionarily possible. You're probably not going to see this arise in animals like humans, for instance, because there's simply no need. A centralized organ is much simpler than miscellaneous localized ones.

You could argue that this sort of structure can be found in leeches. They don't really have 32 brains, one inside each body segment, but they do have one ganglion per body segment, which in a sense exerts local control over that segment. Each ganglion cannot operate independently from the others - that is, it's not like there are 32 individual nervous systems working in unison.

Keep in mind that the segmented structure of the leech is what makes this sort of thing evolutionarily possible. You're probably not going to see this arise in animals like humans, for instance, because there's simply no need. A centralized organ is much simpler than miscellaneous localized ones.

Octopuses also could sort of meet your criteria. They have neurons in their arms, which lets them have a very large brain-to-body ratio. This does let their arms move without as much direct control from the brain.

#Yes.

For large animals, octopuses are a possible source of inspiration. They have neurons in their arms, which lets them have a very large brain-to-body ratio. This does let their arms move without as much direct control from the brain.

You could also argue that this sort of structure can be found in leeches. They don't really have 32 brains, one inside each body segment, but they do have one ganglion per body segment, which in a sense exerts local control over that segment. Each ganglion cannot operate independently from the others - that is, it's not like there are 32 individual nervous systems working in unison.

Keep in mind that the segmented structure of the leech is what makes this sort of thing evolutionarily possible. You're probably not going to see this arise in animals like humans, for instance, because there's simply no need. A centralized organ is much simpler than miscellaneous localized ones.