New Research Reveals Surprising Intelligence of Jellyfish: Could it Change Our Understanding of the Brain?

Tuesday, 26 September 2023 – 14:06 WIB

LIVE Techno – Jellyfish are much smarter despite having just 1,000 nerve cells and no centralized brain, new research reveals. Studies show that the poisonous Caribbean box jellyfish can learn at a much more complex level than ever imagined.

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In the journal Current Biology, scientists say the animal has changed our fundamental understanding of the brain – and could reveal more about our brains and the process of dementia.

Jellyfish have been around for more than 500 million years, but until now, they were considered simple creatures with very limited learning abilities.

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The general scientific opinion is that a more advanced nervous system equals more advanced learning potential in animals, as quoted from the Metro website, Tuesday, September 26 2023.

Jellyfish and their relatives, collectively known as cnidarians, are thought to be the earliest animals to develop nervous systems – having fairly simple nervous systems without a centralized brain.

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Neurobiologist Professor Anders Garm has been researching box jellyfish, a group known as one of the world’s most venomous creatures, for more than a decade.

These fingernail-sized species live in Caribbean mangrove swamps, where they use an impressive visual system, including 24 eyes, to hunt copepods – small crustaceans – among the roots.

“In the past, it was thought that jellyfish were only capable of the simplest forms of learning, including habituation – the ability to get used to certain stimuli, such as constant sound or constant touch,” said Professor Garm, from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Now, researchers see that jellyfish have much better learning abilities and they can actually learn from mistakes. He said one of the most sophisticated attributes of the nervous system is the ability to change behavior as a result of experience – to remember and learn.

When small box jellyfish approach mangrove roots, they turn and swim away. If they turn too quickly, they won’t have enough time to catch any of the copepods. However, if it is too late, the plant risks hitting the roots and damaging its gelatinous body.

Garm explained that judging distance was very important to them – and the research team found that contrast was key. “Our experiments show that contrast – how dark the roots are compared to the water – is used by jellyfish to judge the distance to the roots, allowing them to swim away at the right time,” he said.

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“In the past, it was thought that jellyfish were only capable of the simplest forms of learning, including habituation – the ability to get used to certain stimuli, such as constant sound or constant touch,” said Professor Garm, from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

2023-09-26 07:06:00
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