Spell octopuses Provoking scientists is justified. They are among the smartest animals on the planet.. are Able to learn quickly, process information, memorize it and apply it when necessary. Therefore, researchers are trying to discover how their nine brains work – one central and eight peripheral at the tentacles. An international group of scientists has now reached a milestone: They have recorded, for the first time, the brainwaves of freely moving octopuses. His conclusion: “They are extraordinary animals.”
Octopuses do not have a skeleton and have eight flexible arms whose sensory and motor activities are autonomous and coordinated. complex central nervous system. The octopus brain contains a large number of neurons arranged into many different lobes.
In other species, linking brain activity to behavior This is done by placing electrodes on the skull and directly relating electrical activity to observed behavior.
However, octopuses do not have a rigid structure to which recording equipment can be fixed. Next to you the ability to use their eight flexible arms causes them to remove foreign bodies stuck to the outside of your body.
Thus, until now it was not possible to record the electrical activity of untethered octopuses, and measuring their brain waves while moving freely was a real technical challenge.
“If we tried to connect wires to them, they’d snap right off, so we needed a way they couldn’t reach completely by tucking the equipment under their skin,” explains first author and former researcher Tamar Gutnick. Physics and Biology from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST).
Twelve hours of continuous recording
This new study, just published in the journal ‘Current Biology’, new technique it was used by the science team to mount a portable data logger in the octopus and place the electrodes in the vertical lobe system.
As a solution, the researchers chose small, lightweight data loggers that were originally designed to monitor birds’ brain activity during flight.
The team adapted the devices to be waterproof and small enough to easily fit inside octopuses. Batteries that have to work in a low air environment, twelve hours of continuous recording.
The researchers selected specimens of the great blue octopus, or octopus, of the day (octopus blue), due to its larger size. They anesthetized three octopuses and inserted recording devices into a cavity in the muscle mantle wall.
The scientists then placed the electrodes in an area of the octopus brain called the vertical lobe and upper middle frontal lobe, which is the most accessible area. This area of the brain is believed to be important for visual learning and memory.
Researchers use this method recording brain activity in octopuses for twelve hours without being tied or under anesthesiaThey were synchronized with simultaneous video recordings of their behavior as they slept, ate, and moved at will.
“We identified several different patterns in brain activity that appeared consistently in all animals. some are similar to activity patterns in mammalian nervous tissue“Other slow and prolonged oscillations have not been identified before.”
enhanced cognitive abilities
Although the researchers were unable to associate the patterns of brain activity in the videos with specific behaviors, the study was “first step, but basic“, not only to determine how octopus brains control their behavior, but also to It provides clues about “the common principles necessary for the formation of intelligence and cognition”..
The area studied is associated with learning and memory, so “what we need to do to explore this circuit is repetitive memory tasks with octopuses. “This is something we hope to do very soon.” Uncover how octopuses learn, socialize and control the movements of their bodies and tentacles.
“If we want to understand how the brain works, the octopus is an excellent animal to study compared to mammals. They have a large brain, a surprisingly unique body and enhanced cognitive skills It evolved in a completely different way from vertebrates,” explains the researcher.
“Octopuses are highly intelligent animals, but we still know very little about how their brains work.. This technique means we now have the ability to look inside their brains as they perform certain tasks. “This is really exciting and powerful,” said Professor Michael Kuba, who led the project in OIST’s Physics and Biology Unit.
The research was carried out by scientists from Japan, Italy, Germany, Ukraine and Switzerland.
Reference work: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00145-8
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