Chapter category:

Analysis of Behavior in the Planarian Model

This chapter appears in the following book:

Planaria: A Model for Drug Action
and Abuse

Edited by: Robert B. Raffa and Scott M. Rawls
ISBN: TBA
» Get more information about this book at landesbioscience.com «

Chapter authors:
Cindy L. Nicolas, Charles I. Abramson and Michael Levin

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Planaria species are powerful models for the study of drug effects and addiction on neural and cognitive function due to their tractability to cell‑biological, pharmacological and molecular‑genetic techniques. In order to fully capitalize on the many advantages of this system, it is necessary to be able to analyze behavior and learning in a quantitative manner in worms that have been treated with drug or RNAi reagents. Here, we give a brief overview of behavior and learning analysis in planaria. Classical data demonstrate that planaria can learn and exhibit many complex behaviors. We present a view of the next generation of work in this field; the development of automated, high‑throughput platforms for analysis of planarian behavior will greatly enhance the integration of molecular genetics, nervous system structure and behavior in the same animal, extending our understanding of drug effects on cognition and opening the way for novel screening approaches to identify new compounds with important nootropic effects.

Cindy L. Nicolas

Charles I. Abramson

Michael Levin
The Forsyth Institute and Department of Developmental Biology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA

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Chapter category:

Analysis of Behavior in the Planarian Model

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