Why the octopus brain is so extraordinary Cláudio L Guerra YouTubevia torchbrowser com
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what could octopuses possibly have in common with us
afterall they dont have lungs, spines or even a poral nerve on which we can all agree on
But what they do have is the ability to solve puzzles
learn through observation
and even use tools
just like some other animals we know
and what makes octopus intelligence so amazing
is that it comes from a biological strucure
completely different from ours
The 200 and so species are moluscs belonging to the order cepholapida
Greek for head feet
those heads contain impressively large brains
with a brain to body ratio
similar to that of other intelligent animals
in a complex nervous systems
with about as many neurons as that of a dog
but instead of being cenralized in the brain
These 500 million neurons are spread out
in a network of interconnected ganglia
organised into three basic structures
The central brain only contains about ten percent of the neurons
while the two huge optic globes contain about 30 percent
the other 60 percent are in the tentacles
which for humans would be like our arms having mind of their own
this is where things get even more interesting
Vertebrates like us have a rigid skeleton to support our bodies
with joints that allows us to move
but not all type of movements are allowed
You cant bend your knee backwards or bend your forearm in the middle for example
cephalopads on the other hand have no bone at all
allowong them to bend their knee at any point and in any direction
so shaping their tentacles into any one of the virtually limitless number of possible arrangements
is unlike anythiing we are use to
Consider a simple task like grabbing and eating an apple
the human brain contains a neurological map of our body
when you see the apple your brain motor center activates the appropriate muscles
allowing you to reach it with your arm grab it with your hand , bend your elbow joint and bring it to your mouth
For an octopus the process is qutie different
rather than a body map the cephallopoid brain has a behaviour of library
so when an octopus sees food its brain doesnt activate a specific body part
but rather a behahioural response to grab
as the signals travel through the network the arm neurons pick up the message
and jump into action to command the movement
as soon as the arm touches the food a muscle activation wave travels all the way to the arm to the base
while the arm sends another wave from the base to the tip
the signals meets half way between the food and the arm
letting it know to bend at that spot
what all this means is that each of an octopuses eight arms arms can essentially think for itself
this gives it amazing flexibilty and creativity when facing a new situation or problem
whether its opening a bottle to reach food
escaping through a maze
moving around in a new environment,
changing the texture and colour of its skin to blend into the sceenery
or even mimicking other creatures to scare away enemies
cephalopoids may have evolved complex brains long before our vertebrates relatives.
and ocotpus intelligence isnt just used for octopuses
their radically different nervous systems in autonomusly thinking appenditures
have inspired new research in developing flexible robots
made of soft materials
and studying how intelligence can ariseo along such a divergent evolutionary path
can help us understand more about intelligence and consciousness in general
who knows what other forms of intelligence life are possible?
or how they process the world around them