The first observations of octopus brain waves revealed how alien their minds truly are
SalonTheir bizarre bodies, blobby shape and unique intelligence rank octopuses among the most beloved creatures of the ocean. Indeed, domesticated animals like dogs can be trained to lay still in the noisy fMRI machine long enough for scientists to observe their brain activity in response to certain stimulation. It would be preferable if we could record brain activity of octopuses by measuring electrical signals while documenting an associated behavior, similar to when we put people or dogs into fMRI machines. Now, for the first time, researchers found a way to record the brain activity of free-moving octopuses thanks to the work of an international team from Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland and Ukraine. Some of the brain waves resembled the size and shape of mammalian brain activity, but other pulses from the neurons of octopuses were completely bizarre.
History of this topic
Octopuses' sleep found to have active and quiet phases, similar to human sleep
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Octopus dreaming: New study finds distinct sleep patterns in octopus similar to mammals
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Do octopuses dream of electric eels? Brainwave studies find octopus and human neural similarities
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Exposed to cold water, octopuses will change the genes in their brain, study reveals
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The mysterious inner life of the octopus
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