Our new paper in eLife investigates the role of reflexes in the neuromuscular control of locomotion by testing how muscle function and stability change following disruption the stretch reflex to the lateral gastrocnemius muscle in the guinea fowl. We discovered that birds with a proprioceptive deficit compensate by activating their muscle slightly earlier in late swing. This enables the birds to maintain the work output and force development patterns of the LG, but with reduced stability and higher activation costs. See https://elifesciences.org/articles/53908
