PlanariaScan: Development of a Video-based Monitoring System on Planaria Learning and Memory under Various Stressors

Planarians are flatworms that can regenerate any part of their own bodies. The fact that they exhibit many bodily systems similar to those of humans and that they have the ability to learn through experience made them a suitable model organism. This research aims to design an AI system called PlanariaScan that is able to automatically monitor planarian behavior. A chamber was designed by taking into account the fact that planarians shy away from light and the idea that if there was food (liver) under the light, an affinity for it may be developed. To design a smart chamber, it was made entirely black, blocking out almost all of the light in the environment. Then, UV light was put into the chamber via a UV flashlight, focusing on only a small radius that was directly where the food would later be put. By putting forty planarians into this environment and recording time stamps of when they come to engage with the food, it can be discovered how well they can learn that the light is actually favorable in these situations. Then, various groups of planarians were incubated in ethyl alcohol, caffeine, and carbon 60 with water as a control, and how well the planarians that were incubated in chemical substances retained memory compared to the control group could reveal how these substances affect learning. The timestamps were recorded and the results analyzed with a T-test to reveal how statistically significant the outcome was. This was the first study to use AI to monitor and analyze planarian behavior as well as C60 to positively influence their learning, memory, and regeneration.