The mental life of plants and worms, among others by Oliver Sacks is a research article
that supports the fact that plants, worms and other organisms have a mental life. The author had
an early interest in the functions of small animals, aquatic creatures, worms, especially the little
animals found by the seashore. At one point he thought that he wanted to be a Marine Biologist.
He was really intrigued by the animals behavior and their response to stimuli. Eventually, the
author read books and reports from famous doctors, researchers and legends on the functions of
the CNS to enhance his knowledge.The author examined a study that was done about Jellyfish.
The study of the Jellyfish had some mind blowing findings. For one ‘the jellyfish have eyes with
a retina, cornea and lenses’, this is similar to the eyes of humans. The Jellyfish also has a brain
with ‘complex adaptive behaviors’. The significant finding was that Jellyfish have nerve cells
and it was compared to other species that have nerve cells, including the nerve cells in humans.
All species with nerve cells,whether big or small, the functions are similar. Another study was
done to compare the nerve cells of vertebrates and invertebrates. The result was that the nerve
cells in a vertebrate function differently from the nerve cells in an invertebrate. However, the
nerve cells in the invertebrate function similarly to the nerve cells in humans and other
invertebrates. The author also examined the nerve conduction of plants or plant electricity. Some
plants show evidence of responding to stimuli, but compared to the fast response in a jelly fish,
plants respond much slowly. I learned a few things while reading this article about organisms. I
think it was well written and informative. I can definitely use the author style of writing as an
example for future reports I may have to do as I am interested in Biology as my major.