Novel object recognition in Octopus maya

The Novel Object Recognition task (NOR) is widely used to study vertebrates' memory. It has been proposed as an adequate model for studying memory in different taxonomic groups, allowing similar and comparable results. Although in cephalopods, several research reports could indicate that they r...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animal cognition 2023-06, Vol.26 (3), p.1065-1072
Main Authors: Vergara-Ovalle, Fabian, Ayala-Guerrero, Fructuoso, Rosas, Carlos, Sánchez-Castillo, Hugo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal cognition
Animals
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Cephalopoda
Cephalopods
Exploratory Behavior
Invertebrates
Laboratories
Life Sciences
Memory
Nervous system
Neurosciences
Object recognition
Octopodiformes
Octopus maya
Octopuses
Original Paper
Pattern recognition
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Psychology Research
Recognition, Psychology
Taxonomy
Vertebrates
Visual Perception
Zoology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The Novel Object Recognition task (NOR) is widely used to study vertebrates' memory. It has been proposed as an adequate model for studying memory in different taxonomic groups, allowing similar and comparable results. Although in cephalopods, several research reports could indicate that they recognize objects in their environment, it has not been tested as an experimental paradigm that allows studying different memory phases. This study shows that two-month-old and older Octopus maya subjects can differentiate between a new object and a known one, but one-month-old subjects cannot. Furthermore, we observed that octopuses use vision and tactile exploration of new objects to achieve object recognition, while familiar objects only need to be explored visually. To our knowledge, this is the first time showing an invertebrate performing the NOR task similarly to how it is performed in vertebrates. These results establish a guide to studying object recognition memory in octopuses and the ontological development of that memory.
ISSN:1435-9448
1435-9456
DOI:10.1007/s10071-023-01753-6