Octopuses become more friendly with ecstasy, just like humans – Quartz

You might not imagine that humans have much in common with octopus. The bizarre, intelligent, gelatinous creatures that change shape, with eight tentacles, three hearts, blue blood and the ability to change their color and taste with their skin, seem as close to aliens as anything on Earth.

According to a new study published in the journal Current Biology today (Sept. 20), soak solitary sea dwellers into a bath of drug addiction and our commonalities become more apparent. Even these loners become more friendly and social when they are exposed to MDMA. This means that, in terms of evolution, we share more qualities with the octopus than previously thought, say neuroscientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"Octopus brains are more like snails than humans, but our studies add to the evidence that they may present some of the behaviors we can," says principal investigator Gül Dölen in a statement. a statement. "What our studies suggest is that some brain chemicals, or neurotransmitters, that send signals between the neurons required for these social behaviors are preserved during the course of evolution."

Dölen and his team were interested in the effects of ecstasy on octopus, because it is obvious that creatures are intelligent and conscious. According to the researcher, solitary cephalopods carry prey into their claws, seem to learn by observation and have episodic memory. They are known for escaping tanks, playing pranks, escaping guardians and even seem to have sense of humor.

Dölen and Eric Edsinger, a researcher at the Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, studied the genomic sequence of Octopus bimaculoides, commonly called the two-point octopus in California. They found amazing similarities between octopuses and humans. We have almost identical genomic codes for the transporter that binds the neurotransmitter serotonin – a mood regulator – to the neuron's membrane.

Serotonin is associated with mood and related to depression. In the human brain, MDMA binds to cells that carry serotonin. This is why taking ecstasy changes the mood and tends to make people feel good, ecstatic and more inclined toward their peers. Experiments with mice and MDMA have also shown similar effects, making mice more social.

Eight arms to hold you

Given the new similarities between octopus genetic codes and humans, researchers wondered what would happen to solitary octopus exposed to MDMA. Would they be more social too?

The answer, it seems, is yes. Four octopuses, two males and two females, were dipped in water with liquefied MDMA for ten minutes – the creatures absorbed the drug through their gills. Then they were placed in experimental chambers, a series of three connected tanks. One was empty, one room had a plastic figurine under a cage and another had an octopus under a cage. Octopuses on ecstasy were placed in the experimental chambers for 30 minutes and showed a remarkable attraction for the tank with a cage octopus.

Despite their usually solitary behavior, the four creatures on ecstasy were lured into the room by another octopus. They spent more time than the other two rooms, say the researchers, and seemed to really want to spend time with them. "It's not only quantitative, but qualitative. They tended to kiss the cage and put their mouths on the cage, "says Dölen. "It sounds a lot like the reaction of humans to MDMA; they touch each other frequently.

But when the same experiments were conducted with the same creatures minus the MDMA, they showed little interest in the other octopus nearby, instead choosing the empty chamber. Researchers believe this suggests that brain circuits guiding social behavior in octopuses are not so different from ours, but are usually suppressed except during mating, and a more social effect may be influenced by ecstasy.

Not yet a model that sticks

If the underlying circuits guiding their social behavior are actually similar to ours, research on octopuses could also illuminate the human brain, providing insights into the evolution and use of ecstasy as a tool for treating psychiatric disorders. Dölen warns, however, that the results are preliminary and need to be replicated and confirmed in new experiments before octopus can serve as a model for brain research.

Notably, the MDMA used in the experiment was a gift from Rick Doblin, founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. MAPS is studying MDMA for the potential treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and the FDA has granted in January a special "breakthrough" status for MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, which has begun phase 3 trials.

Cephalopods in general, and octopuses in particular, have been used for neuroscience research in the last century, and now, because they are now known to be intelligent and conscious, they have special protections, unlike other invertebrates. In 2013, the European Union granted them the same protections as vertebrates. The United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and some Australian states also have special rules for experimenting on these creatures known to experience pain in order to protect them and ensure humane treatment.

The study using ecstasy raises interesting ethical questions. Is it acceptable to dose an animal with medications so that we know how it responds? The researchers did not address Quartz's question about this, but sent a general statement about their experience. On the basis of published results, however, it seems that the octopus ecstasy has not suffered too much and may have even had a good time.