Planarian flatworms are a popular system for research into the molecular mechanisms that enable these complex organisms to regenerate their entire body, including the brain. The research duo will be continuing their research with the worms with the hope of uncovering the secret of how they retain their memories after brain dismemberment.Īn automated training paradigm reveals long-term memory in planaria and its persistence through head regeneration, Journal of Experimental Biology, First posted online July 2, 2013. The researcher suggest a change in the worm's DNA might have occurred as part of the learning process, or that other parts of the worm's body are used to retain memory in ways that are not understood. After that, the worms exhibited no apprehension in moving to the center of the dish under a bright light-a clear indication that they had somehow retained the training they had received prior to decapitation. The worms didn't take to the food right away-it took one training session, but that was it. Once that process was completed, the researchers put the worms back in the lighted Petri dish to see if the learning they had received earlier was retained. Then, they allowed the worms time (14 days) to regenerate the lost body part. Once they had the worms moving without apprehension towards food in the middle of a lighted Petri dish, they collected them and cut off their heads, removing all traces of their brains. The learning process took approximately 10 days. To find out, they constructed a computer controlled apparatus that helped teach several of the worms to tolerate light and open spaces-normally the worms are extremely averse to both. In this new effort, the researchers wondered if the worms would be able to remember things they had learned if their heads were removed and allowed to re-grow. Prior research has shown that this remarkable ability is due to their bodies being made up of 20 percent pluripotent stem cells. Planarian flatworms are used in biology research a lot because they have the unique ability to regenerate parts of their bodies when needed.
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