Do Worms Have Brains? Can They Think And Like Humans Do?

The brain is the fundamental organ of most living organisms, including worms like earthworms.

The brain controls various functions like respiration, movement of the body, movement of the eye, and so much more! Without brains, there is no life.

Brains are crucial parts of the body of the majority of living beings. They help make some of the most important decisions to keep us alive—some involuntary actions like breathing and swallowing.

Usually, an adult worm is a few millimeters long. Worms also have body segments that hold some essential other organs for the functioning of the body.

Even though the worms cannot do any complex tasks, it is well established that earthworms feel pain. So when any worm is cut into two parts, the worm feels excruciating pain. Worms like earthworms have a remarkable ability to regenerate tissues.

So the part of the worm which contains the head heals, and the other half eventually dies. To find out out more about what they can do and how they behave, read below!

Do you like learning about these tiny but exciting creatures? Be sure to check out more articles like earthworm anatomy and does worms have a mouth?

Do worms and earthworms have heads and brains?

A worm's brain is relatively low complexity but essential nonetheless. But, some worms, like marine worms, have more complex brains. Brains are usually connected to various organs of the body with the help of nerves. This helps the organism to feel the surroundings and move around.

Though a worm might seem like it has a long tube-like structure with no start and no end, you can find a distinctive head and a tail of the animal if you look closely. The head of the worm is located near the swollen body part called the clitellum.

Earthworms and all worms have a brain. It is connected to the skin of the worm and muscles, which helps the worm to move around.

There are nerves extended from various parts of the body to the brain. They have around 302 nerve cells in their body. Since they are tiny, they don't have the space to have a well-formed head.

So they do not have eyes or noses. It may sound harsh to us, but the truth is, they don't need such organs as they can absorb oxygen through their skin!

This is the reason they prefer to stay underground. Instead of eyes, they have cell receptors that help in recognizing if the sky is dark or bright.

How do they think?

Worms and earthworms have simple functioning bodies which are enough to keep them alive. They have a brain that helps them to do some functions such as eating food, moving around, and feeling pain. So we might wonder if they think about when to eat or when to move?

Well, a worm does have a brain that helps them identify what its body needs, like when the worm's stomach needs food or how to dispose of the worm poop. To achieve this, they have multiple nerves joined to the brain and organs.

But the brain can only accomplish simple tasks. It is unable to form complex thoughts or think very deeply. Movement or reactions that they depict are usually in response to what they sense through their organs.

For example, they can sense if another animal is moving nearby, or they can smell different kinds of food. It is even noted that worms sometimes even move away from what they think of as foul odor!

Are worms intelligent?

Worms like earthworms are small animals. They usually have cylindrical bodies. A worm's body length is long and tube-like, and elongated. All worms, including earthworms, have multiple limbs and muscles to make them move through the soil. They do not have eyes. They only have cell receptors that help them identify their surrounding based on light and dark conditions.

In recent research carried out in New York, it was found that worms are pretty intelligent. They respond to stimuli.

It can be said that they have free will, like other animals and like humans! When the worm finds a savory smell, the worm's brain could stop and investigate the source of the smell!

They might not be as intelligent as a human brain but are intelligent nonetheless. They do not have eyes. But they have cell receptors that efficiently help them to identify the surrounding based on light and dark conditions.

They can also survive underwater for some time as they are able to breathe using their skin. However, if they fail to get out of the water after extended periods of time, they might eventually drown.

Do worms have memories?

Worms are simple creatures that are found in various places in the world. In forests, lands as well as marine areas. They eat food, including organic material such as dead cells of decaying leaves, fruits, microbes, etc.

This, along with the sense of smell, is something that the worm remembers intrinsically. But do they have explicit memories? Let us find out.

The worm brain is simple. It mainly carries out the task of moving and feeling pain. This brain has nerves that are connected to different organs.

So the brains can send a signal to organs to achieve particular tasks. In general, worms cannot think anything complex. Hence they are just incapable of having complex memories.

In research conducted, it is found that some types of worms like the flatworm are found to have memories even after they are beheaded! But these memories are mostly the things they have experienced just before their heads are removed. But other than that, worms don't have the capacity to think any complex thoughts to have well-formed memories.

How many brains does a worm have and why?

The brain of a worm is different from other animals. It is not very complex but can perform basic functions needed for the survival of the worm. These tiny animals are found in various areas, like rain forests, soil as well as land, and freshwater.

Their brains help them to control their body movements and react to external stimuli. They can also regulate their body temperature, sense other animals nearby and smell different foods. So have you wondered how many brains do they need to achieve so many tasks?

Segmented worms have bilobed brains, which have two cerebral ganglia, which are connected to different parts of the worm body. Hence, it can be technically said that they have two brains.

They have cerebral ganglia in the head region, which are considered as the primitive brains for the worm. These two-lobed brains where nerves extend from the worm brains to their body parts in different segments.

This is useful for the worm to register any pain or react appropriately to any stimuli in the environment. Even though the brain is bilobed, the little animals are not capable of feeling any extreme emotions or deep thinking.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for do worms have brains? Then why not take a look at how long do worms live? Or worm facts!