Scientists have managed to record the brain activity of octopuses without impairing their freedom of movement. In this respect informs Japanese OIST Institute.
“Octopuses are excellent animals to compare with mammals if we want to understand how the brain works. They have a large brain, a unique body, and advanced cognitive abilities that have evolved completely differently from vertebrates,” explains Tamar Gutnik, one of the study’s authors.
However, octopuses do not have a skull to attach electrodes to to take encephalograms, and thus previously researchers could only record data from immobilized octopuses. Therefore, scientists have now decided to place the devices directly on the bodies of animals. It was originally based on compact and lightweight data loggers designed to monitor the brain activity of birds during flight. Scientists have adapted the devices to be waterproof, but they are small enough to easily fit inside octopuses. Batteries required for operation in an airless environment allowed up to 12 hours of continuous recording.
Next, the researchers anesthetized the three octopuses. octopus blue and placed the registrar in the cavity of the muscular wall of the mantle. The scientists then placed electrodes in the vertical lobe and middle upper frontal lobe of the octopus’s brain. This area of the brain is believed to be important for visual learning and memory.
After the operation was completed, the octopuses were placed in an aquarium and their behavior was video recorded. The brain recording worked fine and was then superimposed over the recorded video. The scientists now plan to investigate the link between the animal’s brain activity and its apparent behavior.