What is the creature with the lowest neuron count that demonstrates cognition beyond reflexes? I'm under the impression that nematode worms just perform the same scripted actions over and over again in response to specific stimuli. They have 302 neurons. Chimpanzees display problem solving capabilities, as do other mammals with smaller brains (cats, for instance with ~ 1 billion neurons). You might say that bees demonstrate something more than reflexes when they communicate the location of nectar sources to the hive (~ 960,000 neurons). What's the creature with the lowest number of neurons to demonstrate something more than mere scripted actions? I would imagine its somewhere between a bee and a nematode worm...

Indeed, _C. elegans_ nematodes (which are the ones you are talking about) do not show cognitive responses. AFAIK, _Drosophila melanogaster_ is also able to learn and display some quite complex behaviors, but no cognitive functions. I believe the "simplest" organism known to display what could be called "cognitive" functions is the honeybee (see for example this article).

But as to your question:

> to demonstrate something more than mere scripted actions

I would also ask "what is a scripted action?" and to what extend a complex, cognitive response from a monkey or a human isn't also scripted (though through many different interacting pathways)?