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BIO LO GYA Model
Octopus
Big-brained cephalopods could
help reveal the evolution and
neurobiology of intelligence,
complexity, and moreHumans are more closely related to dino-
saurs than they are to octopuses. Our lin-
eage split from that of cephalopods—the
spineless class that includes octopuses,
squids and cuttlefish—half a billion years ago.
Octopus brains lack any of the major ana-
tomical features of vertebrate brains, and
most of the animals’ neurons are distributed
across their arms rather than in their head.
Yet octopuses are extremely intelligent,
with a larger brain for their body size than all
animals except birds and mammals. They are
capable of high-order cognitive behaviors,
including tool use and problem-solving, even
figuring out how to unscrew jar lids to access
food. Increasingly, some researchers are sug-
gesting octopuses’ combination of smarts
and sheer difference from humans could
make them an ideal model for inferring com-
mon rules governing complex brain function,
in addition to revealing novel neurological
workarounds cephalopods have evolved.
Scientists have often turned to animals,
among them Drosophila fruit flies, zebra
fish and Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes,
JOEL SARTOREto gain biological insight and understand-© 2021 Scientific American © 2021 Scientific American