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We’re one step closer to reading an octopus’s mind, a recording device and electrodes were implanted in the very flexible cephalopods..
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry - Apr 8, 2023 11:00 am UTC
Nine brains, blue blood, instant camouflage: It’s no surprise that octopuses capture our interest and our imaginations. Science-fiction creators , in particular, have been inspired by these tentacled creatures.
An octopus's remarkable intelligence makes it a unique subject for marine biologists and neuroscientists as well. Research has revealed the brain power of the octopus allows it to unscrew a jar or navigate a maze. But, like many children, the octopus also develops an impish tendency to push the boundaries of behavior. Several aquariums have found octopuses memorizing guard schedules to sneak into nearby tanks to steal fish; meanwhile, marine biologists have discovered that wild octopuses will punch fish … for no apparent reason.
According to Dr. Jennifer Maher , a professor at the University of Lethbridge in Canada, there are a “number of [different] types of learning [for octopuses]: cognitive tasks like tool use, memory of complex operations for future use, and observational learning.”
How does the distinct structure of the octopus’s brain enable all this complex behavior? No one had successfully studied wild or freely moving octopuses’ brain waves until a new study by researchers at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan, among others. In their Current Biology paper, the researchers tracked and monitored three captive but freely moving octopuses, analyzing their brain waves for the first time. Using recording electrodes, the researchers found a type of brain wave never before seen, along with brain waves that may be similar to some seen in human brains, possibly providing hints about the evolution of intelligence.
Cunning cephalopods
Our current understanding of octopus intelligence may seem unbelievable. In 2011 , researchers discovered that each arm of the cephalopod has its own “brain.” Using a transparent maze with food in it, held outside of the tank, the researchers forced the octopus to navigate the maze using only its arm, even though it could see where the food was. The octopus couldn’t rely on chemical cues processed by its brain to find the food, as it typically does in the ocean, forcing the arm’s individual “brain,” or neuron bundle, to find the food on its own by processing the signals locally. Each octopus arm is thought to have around 10,000 neurons dedicated to sensing its surroundings.
Other research shows that octopuses are the only invertebrates, besides a few insects, to use tools. They will compress shells around their bodies as a type of proto-armor and camouflage against predators.
Octopuses can also mimic human movement by walking bipedally , lifting six of their legs like a skirt, and scooting along the ocean floor. However, that seems to be one of the few similarities between these cephalopods and humans, as evolution has separated us by many millions of years.
“The enormous difference between octopuses and us stems from over 550 million years of independent evolution,” explained Dr. Michael Kuba , the OIST project leader for the 2023 octopus brainwave study who now works at Naples University. “Our closest common ancestor probably resembled a flatworm.” Yet Kuba and his team are looking at the few similarities to learn more about the evolution of mental abilities.
Wiring an octopus’s brain
It’s no easy task to read an octopus’s brain. For one thing, the animals are nearly impossible to track in the wild. “Octopuses are hard to see, and besides, they are often out of water in tide pools,” Maher added. “Only some of them habituate to people, and many species are nocturnal.”
To avoid these complications, many researchers turn to captive octopuses to study their brains. But even this can prove challenging. “Since the octopuses have eight ultra-flexible arms that can reach any part of their body and have a soft body with no skull to anchor the recording equipment, the challenge of this project was to realize a new equipment that was out of reach,” said Dr. Anna Di Cosmo , a professor at the University of Naples and a researcher involved in the 2023 study.
Reach matters because the animal often removes or plays with the recording equipment. Kuba, Di Cosmo, and others decided to take a new approach by implanting their recording devices inside the octopus’s brain, far out of reach.
An octopus lobotomy
“We developed a new engineering solution, able to record signals underwater, using small and lightweight data loggers, originally utilized to track the brain activity of birds during flight,” Di Cosmo added. These repurposed loggers were carefully placed into the upper head of three captive tropical octopuses, just between their eyes. “The electrodes were implanted into an area of the octopus’s brain called the vertical lobe and median superior frontal lobe,” Di Cosmo stated, “which is the most accessible area and considered important to control learning and memory processes.”
The octopuses were anesthetized during their surgeries. They spent the next 12 hours recovering, monitored in their tanks, being the first octopuses to be studied in real time. “We also filmed them with a sensitive camera as they swam, slept, and explored their surroundings,” Kuba added. While the researchers didn’t have the octopuses complete any brain teasing activities during the next 12 hours of study, they did find some interesting brain activity in their test subjects.
When the team looked at an octopus’s brain waves for the first time, the results were shocking. As Di Cosmo explained, these signatures were “long-lasting, slow oscillations that have not been described before.” As far as we know, these signatures appear to be unique to the octopuses.
Because the researchers didn’t test the octopuses while recording them, they couldn’t link these unique brain waves to any specific activity, leaving that question to be answered by a future experiment.
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Channel ars technica.
Watch an Octopus Ace an Intelligence Test With Unexpected Solution
Written by Angie Menjivar
Updated: October 19, 2023
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They have blue blood and three hearts. Octopuses are fascinating, eight-armed creatures that have time and time again demonstrated their astonishing intelligence. Octolab.tv presents a video that explores the enthralling minds of octopuses. They’ve put together an experiment to observe how an octopus responds when presented with a problem.
Check Out The Entire Video Below!
They placed the octopus next to a twist-top bottle that holds something the octopus wants. It’s a yummy snack that it would seemingly do anything for. As if that temptation wasn’t enough, they’ve also designed this bottle so that it has a small opening that is just large enough for the octopus to get one of its arms through.
Of course, if the octopus reaches in, grabs the snack, and then attempts to pull it out, it simply won’t be able to. That opening is only large enough for the octopus’ arm. So, the octopus can perceive the snack, can touch it, and can taste it, but it is not able to snack on this fish — just yet.
An Intelligent Octopus
The octopus’ handlers perhaps had some guesses about how this octopus might attempt to solve this puzzle, but they were incredibly surprised when the octopus discovered a unique way to gain access to the fish . This is the type of experiment that takes a turn. It’s always quite fascinating when you set out to explore the behavior of an octopus and it reveals its level of intelligence—and strength.
The video captures the octopus and provides you with a written description of everything that’s happening throughout the video. You can see as the octopus crawls around its tank and discovers the bottle (which looks like a baby’s bottle) with the fish inside. It approaches the bottle and attempts to unscrew the top as it explores its options.
The bottle falls on its side and the octopus continues exploring, finding a way to gain access to the tiny silver fish. The octopus even takes a few steps back to analyze the situation and prepare its plan. It continues tackling the task, never wavering. Then, instead of unscrewing the, it applies a tremendous amount of pressure and rips off the top pacifier part of the bottle.
The handlers tried to replicate this action and were only able to outside of the water. When underwater, they were unable to rip off the seal. Although what they wanted was for the octopus to unscrew the bottle, they realized that the intelligent octopus was committed to an outcome and used its unfathomable strength to accomplish its goal.
Watch Octopuses Pull Off Impossibly Good Camouflage In Underwater Video
Octopus Lifespans: How Long Do Octopuses Live?
Angie Menjivar
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From Opening Jars to Solving Complex Tasks: 5 Videos Showing the Surprising Problem-Solving Abilities of Octopuses
Ever wonder how smart octopuses are? These eight-armed sea creatures are smarter than you think. From opening jars with ease to tackling tricky tasks, they continue to blow our minds. Check out the videos below to see just how smart these marine geniuses are!
1. Opening Jars
Source: BBC Earth/Youtube
This genius octopus is showing a high level of intelligence. Watch as this one opens not just one, but many, jars. The video also reveals that octopuses do not just have intelligence in their heads – they have it throughout their arms as well.
2. Octopus vs Underwater Maze
Source: Mark Rober/Youtube
Youtuber Mark Rober made a huge nine-part maze for his pet octopus, Shashimi. Throughout the video, Shashimi continues to blow Mark’s and the viewers’ minds.
3. Twist Top Bottle
Source: Octolab TV/Youtube
This experiment took an unexpected twist when the octopus decided to rip a twist-top bottle open rather than twist it off! This not only shows the intelligence of the creature but also shows their strength.
4. Escape Room Challenge
Octopuses are known as nature’s escape artists – and this one is no different. This four-part escape room challenge was easily beaten by the octopus.
5. Rubik’s Cube
Source: visitSEALIFE/Youtube
Bev, the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham’s Giant Pacific Octopus, has shown an amazing new skill. She completed a difficult Rubik’s cube in just 5.24 seconds.
Octopuses might live in the ocean, but they’re not just your average sea creatures. The videos above reveal a whole new side: they’re geniuses of the underwater world.
This article by Trinity Sparke was first published by One Green Planet on 31 December 2023. Image Credit :Vikks/Shutterstock.
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- Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes an Unexpected Turn
Release Date
- May 27, 2019
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In this video, we provide our octopus with a twist top bottle that contains a delicious snack. The bottle has a small opening that allows him to get one of h...
Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes an Unexpected Turn. June 13, 2019. Watch Later Cinema Mode. At Octolab, we know that octopuses are very intelligent creatures. In a way, we feel that the octopuses themselves know that they are very smart. It should then be no surprise that some of our observational experiments end up having some very ...
It's no easy task to read an octopus's brain. For one thing, the animals are nearly impossible to track in the wild. "Octopuses are hard to see, and besides, they are often out of water in ...
Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes an Unexpected Turn: An octopus removes a fish from a bottle in a way the researchers hadn't considered.
Hey Curious People! Check out this amazing video where we show you Octopus Intelligence at its finest. Watch to see how this Intelligent Octopus gets to its...
"Enjoy Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes an Unexpected Turn: One of the smartest creature in the world! See how Octopus open this Bottle. Feel free to sh...
This is the type of experiment that takes a turn. It's always quite fascinating when you set out to explore the behavior of an octopus and it reveals its level of intelligence—and strength. The video captures the octopus and provides you with a written description of everything that's happening throughout the video.
This genius octopus is showing a high level of intelligence. Watch as this one opens not just one, but many, jars. ... This experiment took an unexpected twist when the octopus decided to rip a twist-top bottle open rather than twist it off! This not only shows the intelligence of the creature but also shows their strength. 4. Escape Room ...
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It's always fun when an experiment takes a turn we did not expect Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes an Unexpected Turn - VIDEO WORLDWIDE Sunday, July 16, 2023, ...
Octopus What We Know. Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes an Unexpected TurnOctopuses are the most highly organized mollusks. The sac-shaped body of an oct...
Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes An Unexpected Turn by Octolab TV (5:08) Posted on April 11, 2021 April 11, 2021 Author EarthNewspaper.com Comment(0) Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes An Unexpected Turn by Octolab TV (5:08) (To view full screen, also with many links, click the link below.)
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Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes an Unexpected Turn Are squid or octopus more intelligent? It is believed that squids are slightly less intelligent than octopuses and cuttlefish; however, various species of squid are much more social and display greater social communications, etc., leading to some researchers concluding that squids are on ...
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Octopus Intelligence Experiment Takes an Unexpected Turn In this video, we provide our octopus with a twist top bottle that contains a delicious snack. The bottle has a small opening that allows him to get one of h...
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Octopus 🐙 Intelligence Experiment Takes an unexpected Turn #shorts