The role of the anterior ganglia in the ability of the earthworm (L. rubellus) to inhibit movement when substrate contact was lost and to move forward was investigated. In Experiment I, worms were observed during the regeneration period following removal of the anterior five segments. A difference (p =.005) was found between the experimental (removal) and control (nonremoval) groups in ability to prevent falling off an elevated platform. The proportion of forward movements for the experimental group increased from an initial low of.31 to.93 over 31 days, while the control group maintained a high proportion (.97) throughout the experiment. Experiment II replicated the first 36-h period of Experiment I and confirmed the finding that the proportion of forward movements for the experimental group declined slowly to a minimum at 24 h, then increased to.21 by 36 h. The results were discussed in relation to Needham’s (1957) hypothesis of a posterior hormonal and metabolic integrating center.