Primitive Nervous Systems. Control and Recovery of Feeding Behavior in the Polyclad Flatworm, Notoplana Acticola

Feeding behavior in Notoplana acticola involves a series of local responses which are under central control. Behavior involves recognizing food, gripping with the tail and turning towards the prey. Food is then conveyed to the mouth and swallowed.2. Worms are still able to ingest food in the absence of the brain using local reflexes.3. Central control is abolished in areas posterior to cuts through the body wall.4. Functional recovery of behavior occurs in a minimum of 8 hr following closure of the wound.5. Anatomical fusion of cut nerves occurs and conduction of potentials can be demonstrated across the healed cut regions of major nerves.6. Recovery of function also occurs in approximately 36 to 48 hr if the cut is not allowed to heal suggesting that new or normally unused pathways can be recruited.