New Research Show a Molecular Analogy That Could Determine the Intelligence of Octopus

A recent study suggests a molecular similarity between the human brain and the octopus' neurological and cognitive complexity.

The study demonstrates that the same "jumping genes" are active in the brains of two different species, the common octopus Octopus Vulgaris, and, the Californian octopus, Octopus bimaculoides.

The intelligence of an octopus is similar to humans

(Photo : Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

The octopus is a remarkable creature with incredible brain complexity and cognitive abilities that are unmatched by other invertebrates.

So much so that it resembles vertebrates in certain aspects more than it does invertebrates.

According to a study recently published in BMC Biology and organized by Remo Sanges from SISSA in Trieste and Graziano Fiorito from Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, the neurological and cognitive complexity of these creatures may have its roots in a molecular parallel with the human brain.

Molecular copy-and-paste or cut-and-paste mechanisms allow transposons, sometimes known as "jumping genes," to "travel" from one location to another in an individual's genome, shuffling or duplicating.

This information was first obtained from the sequencing of the human genome in 2001. Most of the time, these moving parts are quiet since they no longer move and have no observable impact.

Some have become dormant as a result of generations' worth of mutations, while others remain unaltered but obstructed by cellular defensive mechanisms.

Even these damaged copies of transposons and their fragments can still be helpful from an evolutionary standpoint since they are considered to be "raw stuff" that evolution can shape.

Sequencing the human genome revealed as early as 2001 that transposons, or 'jumping genes,' can move from one spot to another in an individual's genome, shuffling or duplicating.

In most situations, these mobile parts are silent: they have no observable impacts and have lost their capacity to move.

Some are dormant because of mutations acquired over generations; others are functional but are prevented by cellular defense systems.

Even fragments and damaged copies of transposons can be important as 'raw stuff' for evolution to mold.

According to Graziano Fiorito, director of the Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, the octopus brain is functionally similar to that of mammals in many ways.

As a result, the found LINE element provides a highly interesting prospect to research to increase our understanding of the development of intelligence.

Read more: New Study Reveals How Octopuses May Have Been Extraterrestrial Organisms From Space

Octopus as a new model of intelligence

Except for birds and mammals, octopuses are exceptionally clever, possessing a greater brain for their body size than all other creatures.

They can perform high-order cognitive actions like tool usage and problem-solving, and can even figure out how to remove jar lids to get to the food.

Some researchers are increasingly claiming that octopuses' mix of intelligence and physical differences from humans makes them a perfect model for inferring universal laws controlling complex brain function, as well as showing innovative neurological adaptations cephalopods have developed.

According to Gul Dolen, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University, the advantage of the mouse is that its brain is strikingly similar to the human brain, but the benefit of the octopus is that it is quite unlike.

Dolen and other neuroscientists are rooting for cephalopods to become the field's newest model organism, recognizing the unique opportunity they provide as very different yet highly sophisticated creatures.

The researchers claim that, like with other model species, revealing the octopus genome opens the door for key types of analysis.

These include employing genetic engineering to investigate how the brain functions, focusing on where certain genes are expressed and investigating evolution by estimating variations across octopus genes and those of other species.

Related article: Researchers Reveal All Octopuses Are Sentient, But Not All Are Necessarily Smart