A standardized battery of tests to measure Octopus vulgaris’ behavioural performance

Novel Object Recognition in Octopus maya.

“…However, these were not strictly NOR tasks, but adaptations or another type of discrimination, while in this case the octopuses were tested with an identical task as it is performed in vertebrates, thus facilitating the comparison between both at a behavioral and cognitive level. On the contrary, the effect that "familiarity of context and objects" has on learning in some species of octopus has been widely described (Fiorito et al 1998;Borrelli et al 2020), however to our knowledge, it had not been standardized in a test that could be compared with other groups and measurable as a memory test, until now. Also, O. maya presents an innate exploration behavior to novel objects, in a similar way to what happens in murine models (Ennaceur 2018), but different from what happens in other vertebrates such as Danios, who have an aversion to novel objects or neophobia (Fuss et al 2014).…”

Cephalopod Behavior: From Neural Plasticity to Consciousness

“…As reviewed by Edelman and Seth ( 2009 ) - and particularly at the behavioral level - consciousness has been associated with behavioral flexibility (e.g., plasticity), among other attributes. Marked learning capabilities (review in e.g., Sanders, 1975 ; Marini et al, 2017 ; Hanlon and Messenger, 2018 ; Gutnick et al, 2021 ) and interindividual differences in temperament have been observed across some cephalopod species (Mather and Anderson, 1993 ; Sinn et al, 2001 , 2008 , 2010 ; Sih et al, 2004a , b ; Adamo et al, 2006 ; Scheel et al, 2017 ; Zoratto et al, 2018 ; Borrelli et al, 2020 ; O'Brien et al, 2021 ). It is noteworthy that the existence of ‘personalities' in octopus and other cephalopods has been considered an ´interesting manifestation of individual differencesˇ, but questioned as a demonstration of ´consciousness or self-monitoringˇ (Mather, 2008 , p. 43).…”

“…It is noteworthy that the existence of ‘personalities' in octopus and other cephalopods has been considered an ´interesting manifestation of individual differencesˇ, but questioned as a demonstration of ´consciousness or self-monitoringˇ (Mather, 2008 , p. 43). However, such a spectrum of temperaments termed the ‘shy-bold continuum' (Wilson et al, 1994 ; for cephalopods see for example: Borrelli and Fiorito, 2008 ; Borrelli et al, 2020 ), suggests that each individual develops its own unique response to a given stimulus, forming a specific workspace and an appropriate representation of the environment (Baars, 1994 ; Edelman et al, 2005 ).…”

“…Following from such compelling anecdotal accounts, experimental trials have provided proof of such sophisticated capabilities in cephalopods. Among the most notable findings are: the recognition of human faces (Anderson et al, 2010 ) and individuals (Boal, 2006 ; Tricarico et al, 2011 , 2014 ), play (Mather and Anderson, 1999 ; Kuba et al, 2003 , 2006 ), ‘personality' (Mather and Anderson, 1993 ; Borrelli, 2007 ; Borrelli and Fiorito, 2008 ; Sinn et al, 2008 , 2010 ; Borrelli et al, 2020 ; O'Brien et al, 2021 ), social learning (Fiorito and Scotto, 1992 ; Fiorito, 1993 ; Fiorito and Chichery, 1995 ; Amodio and Fiorito, 2013 ; Huang and Chiao, 2013 ; Tomita and Aoki, 2014 ), episodic memory (e.g., Pronk et al, 2010 ; Jozet-Alves et al, 2013 ; Schnell et al, 2021b ), and deliberate and projective tool use within a specific octopus population (Finn et al, 2009 ), among others.…”

“…It is since the pioneering studies initiated at the end of the 1940's up to recent times, the acclimatization period is a variable length of time during which the animal is exposed to a novel environment (e.g., the tank and its surroundings) and presented with a live prey or conditioned to attack dead prey (Amodio et al, 2014 ; Fiorito et al, 2015 ). The ‘acclimatization' (i.e., acclimation) is considered a form of contextual learning (Maldonado, 1963a , b , c , 1965 ; Borrelli, 2007 ; Marini et al, 2017 ; Borrelli et al, 2020 ). Trials with cuttlefish, octopus, and in some cases squid, have shown that the daily presentation of food increases the likelihood that the animal will attack.…”