Ecstasy turns the antisocial octopus into Lovestruck's cuddly pals – as we do Science

This seems to be the beginning of a bad joke: what do you get when you mix two octopuses, a Star Wars figurine and ecstasy? But a recent experiment has done just that and has revealed that at the neuromolecular level we have more in common with these tentacled cephalopods than you think.

Neuroscientist Gül Dölen of Johns Hopkins University and researcher Eric Edsinger, octopus scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., Organized an experiment with two octopuses and a Stormtrooper or Chewbacca figure. With the toy in a room on one side of a tank and a cephalopod friend in another room, a sober octopus would spend more time with the inanimate object. But add a bit of MDMA to the equation, and the doped octopus starts to become comfortable with his buddy, as reported today in the diary Current Biology.

"I find it fascinating that the experimenters have been able to chemically provoke pro-social behavior in octopuses, which are generally very nervous about approaching congeners," says David Scheel, a marine biologist specializing in the behavior of seabirds. octopus at the Alaska Pacific University. new study.

MDMA, called ecstasy or Molly when it is consumed for recreational purposes, essentially causes a flood of serotonin in the brain. The drug is known for its joyous and joyful effect on people. By studying the effects of ecstasy on octopus, the team realized something they did not expect: the same genetic and neurological infrastructure related to prosocial behavior in humans is also present in other organisms . Specifically, a gene called SLC6A4 encodes a serotonin transporter in humans and octopus, known to be the binding site of MDMA.

"The impact of MDMA on social behavior in this study is compelling and could help fill in many of the missing elements to understand the role of serotonin in social behaviors," says L. Keith Henry, molecular neuroscientist at University of North Dakota. who was not involved in the study.

Since vertebrates diverged from invertebrates more than 500 million years ago, it may be surprising that humans and octopuses share common neurological functions: our last common ancestor probably resembled a marine creature similar to a worm. It's easy to assume that people do not have much in common with our eight-legged underwater friends.

For starters, our two arms and both legs are pale compared to the eight cupped appendages that give the octopus its name. These versatile sea creatures have three hearts, but no bones, and they are known to spout ink from their predators (an ability we miss, unfortunately). Octopus is a master of disguise, using camouflage to blend naturally into its environment – something we need special equipment. And the most relevant for this study, octopuses are asocial and solitary beings, avoiding other species of their genus unless it is time to reproduce.

But for all our differences, we know that octopuses share a fundamental trait with humans: intelligence. The animals are smart enough to use tools and can open child proof flasks when they are put to the test. Because of their intelligence, researchers have long suspected that octopuses could serve as appropriate animal models for studying the inner workings of neuromolecular anatomy, Dölen explains.

"The brains of the octopus are different from ours," she says. "They do not have the brain regions that we study in humans, but they can do remarkable things."

Vertebrate brains and invertebrate brains often have a very different appearance and function, as the two groups have separated so long ago, evolving separately for millions of years. To truly understand what is happening in the brain to provoke social behavior, scientists need to look at genetic operations under the hood.

The researchers intersected the genomes of 21 species, including humans. The SLC6A4 gene fits perfectly with humans and octopus, so the team thinks that MDMA has the same effect on both species.

The genetic link between species is particularly relevant because MDMA has recently been hailed as a "revolutionary therapy" in clinical trials, used in conjunction with additional therapeutic treatments for diseases such as PTSD. Serotonin signaling is also clearly associated with many aspects of autism spectrum disorder, such as aberrant social behaviors and some social anxiety disorders. A known animal model for future tests could be a boon for neurology researchers working on these disorders, says Henry.

"It is exciting and encouraging to see what we can learn about the social interactions that cross the animal kingdom and, by way of relationship, to understand the diverse and complex social interactions in humans.

Future experimentation with octopus could provide valuable information, but neuro-pharmacologist Alli Feduccia of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies of Santa Cruz, California, advises to proceed with caution.

"While [an octopus] "It's not a model of autism, it's a model of social anxiety," says Feduccia, whose team recently released the first clinical trial using MDMA for to relieve the symptoms of social limitation in autistic adults. "I do not know if [anxiety] goes up to be a mess in octopuses, but they like to be alone. I do not know what we will learn about humans with this model of MDMA that we do not already know.

Feduccia reiterates that the biggest discovery of the study is that we share something in common with these marine oddballs. The seemingly foreign creatures are not so different from us after all, and for Dölen, it's the heart – and if you're an octopus, the heart – of this research.

"As human beings, we care a lot about our origin and what our ancestors looked like. [and] in a sense, it gives us a window on where we are from, "she says. "We have been very social for a very long time."

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