^TagOctopus brain

An octopus holding a plastic bottle , generative ai

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 29, 2023

Categorized
Animal mind, Evolution

Tagged
Dominic Sivitilli, Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Mihai Andrei, Octopus (intelligence), Octopus brain}

Octopus Intelligence Is Unlike Anything We Know

_{Could such a different neurology really evolve purely by natural selection acting on random mutations?} _{Denyse O'Leary

September 29, 2023

4

Animal mind, Evolution}

The octopus, considered to be separated from us by about 700 million years of evolution, is believed to be the most intelligent invertebrate. It challenges many common assumptions about animal intelligence because it is also a short-lived loner. And we are discovering that its nervous system apparatus for intelligence is also completely different from typical mammal or bird models. Rather than having a centralized nervous system, the octopus’ nervous system is spread throughout its body. Two-thirds of its neurons are not inside its brain. Researchers aren’t even sure how this system can work, but it does … But it gets even more interesting. Many of these neurons can communicate with each other without going through the brain. Essentially, the nervous Read More ›

Gallipoli, Canakkale, Turkey; close up of an octopus eye (Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797). Generative AI

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
September 16, 2023

Categorized
Evolution, Natural Intelligence

Tagged
Animal Intelligence, Animal intelligence and evolution, Ed Yong, Grygoriy Zolotarov, Jonathan Birch, Octoculture, octopus, Octopus (and pain), Octopus (intelligence), Octopus brain, Octopus intelligence and jumping genes, Robyn Crook}

Octopus Intelligence Shakes Up Darwin’s Tree

_{There does not seem to be a Tree of Intelligence, which deepens the mystery of intelligence} _{Denyse O'Leary

September 16, 2023

7

Evolution, Natural Intelligence}

(This article was first published in Salvo 64, Spring 2023, as Spineless Wonders.) The octopus presents a conundrum in animal intelligence: A highly intelligent invertebrate. We used to live in tidy world, where vertebrates, with backbones terminating in a brain, were more intelligent than invertebrates, with a variety of nervous system layouts and structures (or, in many cases, little or none thereof). Mammals and birds are, of course, highly favored for intelligence because they are warm-blooded (endothermic), and the brain is a high metabolic area. The traditional “tree of intelligence” makes sense, actually. But then we got to know the octopus. A “Second Genesis” Called by some a “second genesis of intelligence”, the octopus is the hero or perp of Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 8, 2022

Categorized
Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience

Tagged
Bradley van Paridon, Grygoriy Zolotarov, MiRNAs, Nikolaus Rajewsky, Octopus brain, Octopus intelligence}

Micro RNAs: A New Clue About Octopus Intelligence?

_{While octopus brains are very different from vertebrate brains, they share with vertebrates, a huge number of microRNAs} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 8, 2022

5

Natural Intelligence, Neuroscience}

In general, the “intelligent” animals (apes, elephants, crows, whales, dogs, dolphins) are vertebrates, not invertebrates. There is one glaring exception: the cephalopods (octopuses, squid, cuttlefish). They, like vertebrates, developed large, complex brains and unexpectedly sophisticated cognitive abilities. When thinking about the puzzle, we sometimes fall victim to a sort of confusion: We reason that greater intelligence results from the fact that it “helps the octopus survive better.” Perhaps it does. But, while greater intelligence might help many life forms survive better, only a few develop it. In short, we need a “how” explanation here, not a “why” explanation. A recent study from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine points to the possible role of microRNAs (miRNAs). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are Read More ›