Cephalopod intelligence

Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are in the nerve cords of its arms. These are capable of complex reflex actions without input from the brain.[1]

Cephalopod intelligence is a measure of the cognitive ability of the cephalopod class of molluscs.

Intelligence is generally defined as the process of acquiring, storing, retrieving, combining, comparing, and recontextualizing information and conceptual skills.[2] Though these criteria are difficult to measure in nonhuman animals, cephalopods are the most intelligent invertebrates. The study of cephalopod intelligence also has an important comparative aspect in the broader understanding of animal cognition because it relies on a nervous system fundamentally different from that of vertebrates.[3] In particular, the Coleoidea subclass (cuttlefish, squid, and octopuses) is thought to be the most intelligent invertebrates and an important example of advanced cognitive evolution in animals, though nautilus intelligence is also a subject of growing interest among zoologists.[4]

The scope of cephalopod intelligence and learning capability is controversial within the biological community, complicated by the inherent complexity of quantifying non-vertebrate intelligence. In spite of this, the existence of impressive spatial learning capacity, navigational abilities, and predatory techniques in cephalopods is widely acknowledged.[5][6] Cephalopods have been compared to hypothetical intelligent extraterrestrials, due to their independently evolved mammal-like intelligence.[7]

  1. ^ Yekutieli, Y.; Sagiv-Zohar, R.; Aharonov, R.; Engel, Y.; Hochner, B.; Flash, T. (2005). "Dynamic model of the octopus arm. I. Biomechanics of the octopus reaching movement". Journal of Neurophysiology. 94 (2): 1443–1458. doi:10.1152/jn.00684.2004. PMID 15829594. S2CID 14711055.
  2. ^ Humphreys, Lloyd G. (April–June 1979). "The construct of general intelligence" (PDF). Intelligence (editorial). 3 (2): 105–120. doi:10.1016/0160-2896(79)90009-6. ISSN 0160-2896. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Cephalopod intelligence" Archived 2020-03-21 at the Wayback Machine in The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight.
  4. ^ Crook, Robyn & Basil, Jennifer (2008). "A biphasic memory curve in the chambered nautilus, Nautilus pompilius L. (Cephalopoda: Nautiloidea)" (PDF). Journal of Experimental Biology. 211 (12): 1992–1998. doi:10.1242/jeb.018531. PMID 18515730. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  5. ^ Hunt, Elle (28 March 2017). "Alien intelligence: the extraordinary minds of octopuses and other cephalopods". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  6. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (April 13, 2016). "Inky the Octopus Escapes From a New Zealand Aquarium". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  7. ^ Baer, Drake (20 December 2016). "Octopuses Are 'the Closest We Will Come to Meeting an Intelligent Alien'". Science of Us. Retrieved 26 April 2017.