Associative learning in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis.

ABSTRACT: The ability to learn and form memories allows animals to adapt their behavior based on previous experiences. Associative learning, the process through which organisms learn about the relationship between two distinct events, has been extensively studied in various animal taxa. However, the existence of associative learning, prior to the emergence of centralized nervous systems in bilaterian animals, remains unclear. Cnidarians such as sea anemones or jellyfish possess a nerve net, which lacks centralization. As the sister group to bilaterians, they are particularly well suited for studying the evolution of nervous system functions. Here, we probe the capacity of the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis to form associative memories by using a classical conditioning approach. We

SUBMITTER: Botton-Amiot G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10068830 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature