A study conducted by Tufts University tested flatworms' abilities to store memories outside of their brains and recall them after they have been decapitated. Because flatworms can regrow limbs and extremities, they were able to regrow and redevelop a new brain. Though it only takes around two weeks for these flatworms to develop a new brain, this process still poses the question: will these worms still recognize this once familiar territory?
To test this, the researchers at Tufts noted that flatworms need to be familiar with their surroundings to ensure their safety before they eat. So, they collected a number of flatworms and raised them in a certain environment with specific surroundings. Once the flatworms were used to the environment around them, the scientists chopped off their heads and placed them in a new home for about two weeks for their heads to grow back. Once their heads redeveloped, the flatworms were placed in their old environment. This was to see if the flatworms needed time to get used to their surroundings, or if their behavior was the same as before the decapitation. And it was. The flatworms did not need to get used to their environments- they were behaving as they were familiar with their surroundings, even though they had a newly developed brain.
The new research, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, could have implications for the development of artificial memory and the study of neurodegenerative diseases, which researchers hope to treat by someday replacing damaged brain tissue.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/flatworms-recall-familiar-environs-even-after-losing-their-heads/
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