It ’s further evidence that octopus intelligence is unlike anything we ’ve ever watch . Their arms keep to remain awake , reacting to pain , long after they have been remove from the body of the octopus . This is n’t just post - mortem vellication — the tentacles are mindful of their surroundings , and responding to danger .
Over at Scientific American , Katherine Harmondescribes a recent experimentwhere the limbs of 10 octopuses were burn off :
After the animal were euthanized , their arm were hit and celebrate in chilled seawater for up to an hour until they were quick for experimentation . Some arms were suspended vertically , and others were repose out horizontally . When snarf , suspended arm recoiled from the unpleasant stimulus by shortening and curling in a bottle screw human body within one second . ( After this , the arms lento relaxed and give to their premature distance . ) rap water and acid applied to the arms evoked a like response . Horizontal arms also move off from the undesirable stimulant , many bending in a sort of contrived articulation toward the top . “ The results show that the arms are up to of reflex climb-down to a ‘ noxious ’ stimulant without reference to the brain , ” the investigator noted in their paper .

you could read the scientific newspaper about the experiment inThe Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology . Here ’s one figure of speech of how an octopus tentacle respond to a petri stunner with loony toons in it . you could see that the sinew in the limb bunch up , deplumate it out from the perceived danger .
The researcher believe this is evidence that the octopuses possess nociceptors , or neurons that specialize in respond to strong-arm danger . In humans , however , nociceptors are control by the spinal cord , and a cut off weapon system would n’t recoil from pain . Why would they proceed to influence in an octopus after the blazonry are no longer attached ?
One possibility is that octopus do n’t have mind like ours — their consciousness is more evenly distributed throughout their organic structure . This musical theme is n’t new . Harvard philosopher Peter Godfrey - Smith has take consciousness in octopuses , and describes their mind as potentially an example of “ circulate cognisance . ” TheHarvard Gazette sum up up his thoughts :

devilfish have large nervous system , centered around relatively large brains . But more than one-half of their 500 million nerve cell are found in the sleeve themselves , Godfrey - Smith said . This raises the question of whether the arms have something like thinker of their own . Though the question is controversial , there is some observational evidence indicate that it could be so , he say . When an octopus is in an unfamiliar tank car with food in the middle , some arms seem to push into the corner seeking safety while others seem to take out the animal toward the nutrient , Godfrey - Smith explain , as if the creature is literally of two minds about the situation .
No matter what the reason for the strange movement of the cut off octopus arms , one matter is certain . This kind of scientific experiment in all likelihood wo n’t materialize again any time soon . Because there isso much grounds for devilfish intelligence , the European Union hasissued a directivestating that no experiments may be done on octopus ( and possibly other cephalopods like calamary ) that cause them unnecessary botheration ordistress . And I think we can all concord that having your arms severed and then tortured is therefore off the list .
https://gizmodo.com/the-growing-evidence-for-octopus-intelligence-5858783

https://gizmodo.com/prominent-scientists-sign-declaration-that-animals-have-5937356
Read moreon Scientific American
Photo byStasis PhotoviaShutterstock

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