Octopus bocki explores in an Condition Place Preference chamber, where visual cues link an experience with a particular context. ©CrookLab
The newest work from our lab has just been published in iScience. In this study, we show that octopuses demonstrate behaviors that strongly indicate that they are able to experience the affective, or emotional, component of pain. These finds are a significant advance for cephalopod welfare - it is the first clear demonstration of this ability in cephalopods even though there has been ongoing conjecture about such abilities for a many years. This study also provides a framework through which welfare-promoting interventions, like analgesics, can be assessed objectively. More about our work on pain and welfare can be found here. The paper is available open access from iScience, and a news report on the work is available from Academic Times.