Sea slugs are so weird that scientists use them in a lot of biomedical and behavioral research. By studying the behaviors of a sea slug, researchers hope to learn more about neuranetworks of brains, cures for diseases, and other biological processes.

For example, the sea slug Tritonia diomedea has been used in a lot of neuroethology research. Neuroethology is the study of how the brain controls behavior. By studying its navigation, feeding, mating, and egg-laying behavior they concluded that their behavior is not random, but is controlled by odors and other sensory cues. They can also sense the water currents around them, and flatten themselves out in order not to be swept away. Then the researchers started to apply these behaviors to different sensory systems in the sea slug's brain. By doing this they were able to better understand the operations of the sensory systems, central processing, and motor systems, the basic neural elements in different marine animals.

Sea slugs also play a huge part in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's research. Because sea slugs are so diverse when it comes to brain size, as well as brain cell size, it makes them great for neurology studies. Specifically studies about how memories form, and are stored in the brain.Eric Kandel of Columbia University shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for research on these snails regarding this topic.

However, scientists still need to discover the genes that determine the function of neurons in sea slugs. These genes can explain why we remember certain things, and why certain memories alter our behavior. Or lack thereof. Scientists have discovered that over 10,000 genes can be active within one sea slug brain cell.

But the real reason why sea slugs are so important in the study of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, is where and how these genes are shared. Scientists have found 104 counterpart genes from these diseases in sea slugs. Which concludes that sea slugs are prone to the same neurological issues we have. But how they deal with these issues still has to be determined.

Sea Slugs are also used in studies on vegitative state patients so scientists can get a better idea on how conscious victims from head trauma might be. Scientists have completed trace conditioning experiments on sea slugs, to see if consciousness can be learned, or be measured. This has had a huge impact on how doctors look for consciousness in their patients.