Monday, February 17, 2025

Segmented Nervous System Is The Secret To Octopus Arm’s Magic

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Researchers from the University of Chicago have shown that the secret to the magic of an octopus’s arm movements is a segmented nervous system.

This neurocircuitry holds the key to the octopus’s ability to have very precise movement across all eight arms and the thousands of suckers on them.

The researchers used cellular markers and imaging tools to track and trace the connections across the octopus’s nervous system. They found that the neuronal cells created segmented columns, giving the animal immense control over its arms. 

The researchers also found that the octopus has a strong nerve connection to each of its suckers, which gives it unparalleled capability when it comes to holding and grabbing. 

According to UC Professor of Neurobiology and senior author of the study, Clifton Ragsdale:

“If you’re going to have a nervous system that’s controlling such dynamic movement, that’s a good way to set it up. We think it’s a feature that specifically evolved in soft-bodied cephalopods with suckers to carry out these worm-like movements. Organisms with these sucker-laden appendages that have worm-like movements need the right kind of nervous system. Different cephalopods have come up with a segmental structure, the details of which vary according to the demands of their environments and the pressures of hundreds of millions of years of evolution.”

While a graduate student in Computational Neuroscience who led the study, Cassady Olson, added:

“Thinking about this from a modeling perspective, the best way to set up a control system for this very long, flexible arm would be to divide it into segments. There has to be some sort of communication between the segments, which you can imagine would help smooth out the movements.”

You can check out a video of an octopus and its segmented nervous system demonstrating amazing control over its arms below. 

 

Sam Helmy
Sam Helmyhttps://www.deeperblue.com
Sam Helmy is a TDI/SDI Instructor Trainer, and PADI Staff and Trimix Instructor. Diving for 28 years, a dive pro for 14, I have traveled extensively chasing my passion for diving. I am passionate about everything diving, with a keen interest in exploration, Sharks and big stuff, Photography and Decompression theory. Diving is definitely the one and only passion that has stayed with me my whole life! Sam is a Staff Writer for DeeperBlue.com

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