Early planarian brain regeneration is independent of blastema polarity mediated by the Wnt/β-catenin pathway

► Planarian axins regulate Wnt signaling to control AP polarity during regeneration. ► Early brain regeneration occurs at anterior wounds irrespective of blastema polarity. ► FGFR/Ndk and Wnt/β-catenin signaling interact to control brain differentiation. ► Brain tissues form homeostatically close to the pharynx in 2-tailed planarians. ► The Smed-axins RNAi phenotype depends on the level of amputation along the AP axis.