Jellyfish are more advanced than once thought. A new study from the University of Copenhagen has demonstrated that Caribbean box jellyfish can learn at a much more complex level than ever imagined—despite only having one thousand nerve cells and no centralized brain. The finding changes our fundamental understanding of the brain and could enlighten us about our own mysterious brains.
After more than 500 million years on Earth, the immense evolutionary success of jellyfish is undeniable. Still, we’ve always thought of them as simple creatures with very limited learning abilities.
The prevailing opinion is that more advanced nervous systems equate with more advanced learning potential in animals. Jellyfish and their relatives, collectively known as cnidarians, are considered to be the earliest living animals to develop nervous systems and to have fairly simple nervous systems and no centralized brain.
For more than a decade, neurobiologist Anders Garm has been researching box jellyfish, a group of jellyfish commonly known for being among the world’s most poisonous creatures. But these lethal jellies are interesting for another reason as well: it turns out that they are not quite as simple as once believed. And this shakes our entire understanding of what simple nervous systems are capable of.
“It was once presumed that jellyfish can only manage the simplest forms of learning, including habituation—i.e., the ability to get used to a certain stimulation, such as a constant sound or constant touch. Now, we see that jellyfish have a much more refined ability to learn, and that they can actually learn from their mistakes. And in doing so, modify their behavior,” says Anders Garm, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Biology.
2023-09-24 00:00:03
Post from phys.org
