American scientists from Duke University in North Carolina discovered that some starfish species can learn even though they do not have a brain. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (BES).
Biologists have observed a species of echinoderm known as the black brittle star (Ophiocoma echinata) living in tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The nervous system of these animals consists of structures on the limbs that are connected to each other in a ring around the mouth.
“They don’t have any processing centres. “Each nerve cord can act independently, as if the body had a committee rather than a boss,” explains Julia Notar, lead author of the study.
Scientists conducted an experiment by placing 16 brittle stars in water tanks and feeding them food every 30 minutes. The lights in the aquarium room were dimmed as a group of starfish fed. The second half of the animals was given food with the lights on.
The study lasted 10 months. During this time, the echinoderms of the first group developed a conditioned reflex to darkness; When the lights were turned off, they crawled out of their shelters even before food fell on them.
This relationship persisted even after a 13-day interval during which brittle stars fed without changing illumination.
Scientists don’t yet know exactly how starfish remember their experiences without brains. Biologists hope to find this out with further experiments.
Previous researchers I learnedThat tiny jellyfish, which has no brain, has the ability to learn from its mistakes.
Source: Gazeta
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