Science and Technology Daily reporter Zhang Mengran
In a new paper recently published in the journal Contemporary Biology, researchers from the University of Oregon in the United States drew a detailed map of the octopus visual system and classified some neurons in the brain specifically used for vision. The map provides details that guide future experiments and teaches people more broadly about the evolution of the brain and visual systems.
Fluorescent images of the octopus brain show the location of different types of neurons. Source: Neil Laboratory
The last common ancestor between the octopus and humans lived 500 million years ago, and the species has evolved in very different contexts since then. Therefore, scientists do not know the widening range of similarities in the visual system, or whether octopuses are using completely different neurons and brain circuits to obtain similar results.
The research team used genetic techniques to identify different types of neurons in the octopus' optic lobe, a part of the brain that is specifically used for vision. They selected 6 major neurons and distinguished them based on the chemical signals they sent.
researchers pinpoint specific groups of neurons in a unique spatial arrangement. For example, the neuronal loop around the optic lobe uses a molecule called octopamine . About 1/3 of the neurons in the data appear to have not fully developed. The octopus' brain continues to grow and add new neurons throughout its life. These unmature neurons, which have not yet been integrated into the brain circuit, are a sign of the brain's expansion process.
research team is also working to map the octopus brain outside the visual lobe to see how some of the genes focused in this study appear elsewhere in the brain.
Source: Science and Technology Daily
Editor: Shen Wei (internship)
Review: Yue Liang
