Recently I am reading some works about Caenorhabditis Elegans. A C.elegans has 302 neurons and we already know the function and connection of every one of their neurons so that we can exactly reconstruct it by computer programs. Also, C.elegans have a couple of sensory inputs, and a kind of intelligence (they can learn something).
The question is: what can we learn from C.elegans, so that we can understand Human brains?
To specify, I want to know:
- What's the relationship between C.elegans and Human beings (or primates)? Is there any route in the terms of evolution?
- Does the neural system of C.elegans still exist in human brains, as either a working or an idle part?
I am a computer scientist working on artificial intelligence. My purpose is to clarify the mechanisms of the Human brain. I hope C.elegans could help but I don't know much about biology.