Nerve net

For the album by Brian Eno, see Nerve Net (album).

A nerve net is a type of simple nervous system that is found in members of the phylum cnidaria. Nerve nets consist of interconnected neurons lacking a brain or any form of cephalization. This nervous system allows cnidarians to respond to physical contact. They may then detect food and other chemicals in a rudimentary way. Although the nerve net allows the animal to respond to its environment, it has trouble alerting the animal from where the stimulus is coming. For this reason, simple animals with nerve nets, such as hydra, will typically respond in the same way to contact with an object, regardless of where the contact occurs.