Cephalopod Cognition

Cephalopods are generally regarded as the most intelligent group among the invertebrates. Despite their popularity, relatively little is known about the range and function of their cognitive abilities. This book fills that gap, accentuating the varied and fascinating aspects of cognition across the group. Starting with the brain, learning and memory, Part I looks at early learning, memory acquisition and cognitive development in modern cephalopods. An analysis of the chambered nautilus, a living fossil, is included, providing insight into the evolution of behavioural complexity. Part II surveys environmental responses, especially within the active and learning-dependent coleoids. The ever-intriguing camouflage abilities of octopus and cuttlefish are highlighted, alongside bioluminescence, navigation and other aspects of visual and cognitive competence. Covering the range of cognitive function, this text underscores the importance of the cephalopods within the field of comparative cognition generally. It will be highly valuable for researchers, graduates and senior undergraduate students.

List of contributors; Preface; Acknowledgements; Tribute to Martin J. Wells; Part I. Cognition, Brain and Evolution: 1. Cuttlefish preschool or how to learn in the perihatching period Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq, Christelle Jozet-Alves, Cécile Bellanger and Ludovic Dickel; 2. Evolution of behavioral and neural complexity: learning and memory in chambered nautilus Jennifer Basil and Robyn Crook; 3. Learning from play in octopus Michael J. Kuba, Tamar Gutnick and Gordon M. Burghardt; 4. The neurophysiological basis of learning and memory in an advanced invertebrate - the octopus Binyamin Hochner and Tal Shomrat; 5. The octopus with two brains: how are distributed and central representations integrated in the octopus central nervous system? Frank W. Grasso; Part II. Cognition and the Environment: 6. Foraging and cognitive competence in octopuses Jennifer Mather, Tatiana S. Leite, Roland C. Anderson and James B. Wood; 7. Navigation in cephalopods Christelle Jozet-Alves, Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq and Jean Geary Boal; 8. Camouflage in benthic cephalopods - what does it teach us? Noam Josef and Nadav Shashar; 9. Cuttlefish camouflage: vision and cognition Sarah Zylinski and Daniel Osorio; 10. Visual cognition in deep-sea cephalopods: what we don't know and why we don't know it Sarah Zylinski and Sönke Johnsen; Index.

Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq is a researcher in the Group Memory and Behavioural Plasticity Unit at Université de Caen Normandie, France. She studies embryonic cognition and early learning systems in the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis and lectures in ethology at graduate and undergraduate levels.
Ludovic Dickel is Professor of Behavioural Biology at Université de Caen Normandie, France, managing the Group Memory and Behavioural Plasticity Unit. His research interests are focused on brain development and cognition in cuttlefish as well as collaborative work on embryonic neuroethology in oviparous species.
Jennifer Mather is Professor in the Department of Psychology at University of Lethbridge, Alberta. She is active in researching many aspects of cephalopod cognition and behaviour, especially in octopuses, including groundbreaking work in personality, play and consciousness.