Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25493551›Full record

ArticlePloS one2014

Planarian Phototactic Assay Reveals Differential Behavioral Responses Based on Wavelength.

Taylor R Paskin, John Jellies, Jessica Bacher, Wendy S Beane

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
40citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

40 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. The Sensory Basis of Planarian Behavior.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Oxygen consumption rate of flatworms under the influence of wake- and sleep-promoting neurotransmitters.Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2024
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Why study sleep in flatworms?Journal of comparative physiology. B, Biochemical, systemic, and environmental physiology · 2024
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Light modulatesAging · 2023
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Head removal enhances planarian electrotaxis.The Journal of experimental biology · 2022
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Taylor R PaskinDepartment of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, United States of America.
John JelliesDepartment of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, United States of America.
Jessica BacherDepartment of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, United States of America.
Wendy S BeaneDepartment of Biological Sciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Planarians are free-living aquatic flatworms that possess a well-documented photophobic response to light. With a true central nervous system and simple cerebral eyes (ocelli), planarians are an emerging model for regenerative eye research. However, comparatively little is known about the physiology of their photoreception or how their behavior is affected by various wavelengths. Most phototactic studies have examined planarian behavior using white light. Here, we describe a novel planarian behavioral assay to test responses to small ranges of visible wavelengths (red, blue, green), as well as ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) which have not previously been examined. Our data show that planarians display behavioral responses across a range of wavelengths. These responses occur in a hierarchy, with the shortest wavelengths (UV) causing the most intense photophobic responses while longer wavelengths produce no effect (red) or an apparent attraction (IR). In addition, our data reveals that planarian photophobia is comprised of both a general photophobic response (that drives planarians to escape the light source regardless of wavelength) and wavelength-specific responses that encompass specific behavioral reactions to individual wavelengths. Our results serve to improve the understanding of planarian phototaxis and suggest that behavioral studies performed with white light mask a complex behavioral interaction with the environment.

Indexed as

AnimalsEyeInfrared RaysOcular Physiological PhenomenaPhotic StimulationPlanariansUltraviolet Rays

Identifiers

PMID25493551
PMCPMC4262426

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.