Snail intelligence

[ricksfolly]

The first time I touched the snail's antenna it retracted back inside its head and slowly returned to normal. The second time I touched it it retracted half way and returned to normal again. The third time it didn't move.

Proving that the snail could learn, that it finally accepted me as harmless force, that it had it's own kind of instinctual intelligence.

ricksfolly

 

[youknowwho]

The first time I touched the snail's antenna it retracted back inside its head and slowly returned to normal. The second time I touched it it retracted half way and returned to normal again. The third time it didn't move.

Proving that the snail could learn, that it finally accepted me as harmless force, that it had it's own kind of instinctual intelligence.

ricksfolly

and it's doing it without a brain:

Snails like other invertebrates do not have spinal cord nor one single brain. Instead they have a set of ganglia (groupings of neurons) that distribute the control of the organism to different areas. For example a snail like other mollusk (phylum Mollusca) have a buccal ganglia to control the mouth.

Answers.com - Do snails have a brain

it's just some kind of micro-controllers controling what they do. just like a biological robot.

 

[ricksfolly]

and it's doing it without a brain:

it's just some kind of micro-controllers controling what they do. just like a biological robot.

That's exactly what snails and all other living creatures are... biological stimulus/response robots.

Thanks for the clarification...

ricksfolly

 

[marduc]

Or it could have been that his muscles were cramping or he did not have the energy to fully retract his antennae anymore, or his nerves became overstimulated with all that poking and prodding and were not so reactive, I am sure there could be many possible explanations.

Also as a semi related side note, researchers in the past have done experiments where they administered LSD to snails, afterwards the snails locomotion was drastically altered as a result, proving that snails should not take LSD

 

[1069]

Or it could have been that his muscles were cramping or he did not have the energy to fully retract his antennae anymore, or his nerves became overstimulated with all that poking and prodding and were not so reactive, I am sure there could be many possible explanations.

Also as a semi related side note, researchers in the past have done experiments where they administered LSD to snails, afterwards the snails locomotion was drastically altered as a result, proving that snails should not take LSD

I saw this weird nature show.
It was about some sort of parasite that infects snails, goes into their brains and takes control of them, and causes them to turn into zombies.
They turn bright red, start acting really weird, crawl up trees and sit on branches and expose themselves to birds.
The birds then eat them, and become infected themselves.
It was creepy.
One can easily envision this zombifying parasite traveling all the way up the food chain to humans (although apparently it doesn't).

Google the term "snail parasite".
You'll see videos of the zombie snails.

The mind-controlling parasite is called Leucochloridium Paradoxum.

 

[marduc]

Google the term "snail parasite".
You'll see videos of the zombie snails.

The mind-controlling parasite is called Leucochloridium Paradoxum.

I am familiar with this already, If this was a product of intelligent design, this is one seriously warped and twisted designer.

There are numerous other incredible relationships between parasites and their hosts, and some of the strategies that are employed to facilitate the -necessary- transfer of parasite from one species to another so that they can fulfill their life cycle are amazingly complex.

There is a similar parasite (A liver fluke) that starts its life cycle in a snail, then the snail produces an infected slime ball, which is gobbled up by an ant, and the parasite then takes control of its ant host forcing it to climb to the top of a blade of grass where it will inadvertently be eaten by grazing cattle, thus enabling the unlikely transfer of the parasite from ant to cattle.

 

[spud_meister]

The first time I touched the snail's antenna it retracted back inside its head and slowly returned to normal. The second time I touched it it retracted half way and returned to normal again. The third time it didn't move.

Proving that the snail could learn, that it finally accepted me as harmless force, that it had it's own kind of instinctual intelligence.

ricksfolly

It's called habituation, every species of animal demonstrates it.

 

[ricksfolly]

Or it could have been that his muscles were cramping or he did not have the energy to fully retract his antennae anymore, or his nerves became overstimulated with all that poking and prodding and were not so reactive, I am sure there could be many possible explanations.

You really should address your ideas to scientists, which I'm not, but I do see how learned stimulus/response could come into play here because I can personally relate with it.

My response to your post is a good example of learned stimulus/response (cause/effect).

ricksfolly

 

[BCR]

regardless of how it happens it's pretty incredible..Now when I see a snail I'll be attempting this to see what happens.

 

[Kali]

I had a pet snail and am sure it knew me and loved me as I loved it. They are so cute