Scientists have now recorded brain waves from freely moving octopuses

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By implanting wireless devices into three octopuses like this one (, also known as the big blue octopus), researchers are now able to study the famously intelligent cephalopods’ brain activity during natural behaviors.Michael KubaBy Nora BradfordFor the first time, scientists have recorded brain waves from freely moving octopuses. The data reveal some unexpected patterns, though it’s too early to know how octopus brains control the animals’ behavior, researchers report February 23 in .“Historically, it’s been so hard to do any recordings from octopuses, even if they’re sedated,” says neuroscientist Robyn Crook of San Francisco State University, who was not involved in the study. “Even when their arms are not moving, their whole body is very pliable,” making attaching recording equipment tricky.Headlines and summaries of the latest Science News articles, delivered to your email inbox every Thursday.Thank you for signing up!There was a problem signing you up.Octopuses also tend to be feisty and clever. That means they don’t usually put up with the uncomfortable equipment typically used to record brain waves in animals, says neuroethologist Tamar Gutnick of the University of Naples Federico II in Italy. To work around these obstacles, Gutnick and colleagues adapted portable data loggers typically used on birds, and surgically inserted the devices into three octopuses. The researchers also placed recording electrodes inside areas of the octopus brain that deal with learning and memory. The team then recorded the octopuses for 12 hours while the cephalopods went about their daily lives — sleeping, swimming and self-grooming — in tanks.Some brain wave patterns emerged across all three octopuses in the 12-hour period. For instance, some waves resembled activity in the human hippocampus, which plays a crucial role in memory consolidation. Other brain waves were similar to those controlling sleep-wake cycles in other animals.The researchers also recorded some brain waves that they say have never been seen before in any animal. The waves were unusually slow, cycling just two per second, or 2 hertz. They were also unusually strong, suggesting a high level of synchronization between neurons. Sometimes just one electrode picked up the weird waves; other times, they showed up on electrodes placed far apart,Observing these patterns is exciting, but it’s too early to tell whether they’re tied to a specific behavior or type of cognition, Gutnick says. Experiments with repetitive tasks are necessary to fully understand how these brain areas are activated in octopuses during learning.The new research is exciting in that it provides a technique for future researchers to observe brain activity in awake and naturally behaving octopuses, Crook says. It could be used to explore brain activity behind the animals’ color-changing abilities, spectacular vision, sleep patterns and adept arm control ().Octopuses are highly intelligent, so by studying the creatures “you can get ideas about what is important for intelligence,” Gutnick says. “The problems that the animals face are the same problems, but the solutions that they find are sometimes similar and sometimes different and all of these comparisons teach us something.”Questions or comments on this article? E-mail us at feedback@sciencenews.org | Reprints FAQT. Gutnick . Recording electrical activity from the brain of behaving octopus. . Published online February 23, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.006.Our mission is to provide accurate, engaging news of science to the public. That mission has never been more important than it is today. As a nonprofit news organization, we cannot do it without you. Your support enables us to keep our content free and accessible to the next generation of scientists and engineers. Invest in quality science journalism by donating today.Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. Today, our mission remains the same: to empower people to evaluate the news and the world around them. It is published by the Society for Science.

Mar 24th, 2023

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