What We do
We take an evolutionary and comparative approach to sensory neuroscience to answer a fundamental question: How many ways are there to make a complex brain? Our research focuses on behavioral and neural plasticity induced by injury and noxious sensations in cephalopod mollusks, whose complex brains and behaviors provide novel insights into the evolution and function of affective, emotional states such as pain, and the neural circuits that generate them. Our work is divided in two main research streams:
Cellular and behavioral neuroscience studies aimed at revealing conserved mechanisms and functions of injury-induced plasticity.
Welfare, husbandry, anesthesia and analgesia studies aimed at informing and improving regulatory oversight for cephalopods used in research laboratories throughout the world.
Cephalopod neurobiology
Calcium imaging of the E. scolopes stellate ganglion
Our work focusing on cephalopod neurobiology includes experiments on mechanisms and functions of neural plasticity, nociception and behavioral responses to injury. We examine injury-induced plasticity in peripheral ganglia and in the central nervous system, using electrophysiology, live tissue imaging, and immunostaining. Our overarching goal is to identify highly conserved patterns of nervous system organization, function and development that contribute to fitness-enhancing behavioral plasticity driven by tissue injury.
Cephalopod welfare
Cephalopod welfare in research laboratories
Our work focusing on cephalopod welfare includes mechanistic studies of anesthetic and analgesic drugs, behavioral and cognitive assays of affective state, and characterization of responses to different types of noxious and potentially painful procedures. We also work closely with other researchers, institutions and regulatory agencies to provide relevant evidentiary support for appropriate levels of regulation and protection for cephalopods used in research. Our overarching goal is to enhance welfare through well-designed, innovative studies that correctly identify the emotional, subjective response to noxious sensory input, and to develop and validate tools for its alleviation. Read more about our work on pain in cephalopods here
OUR WORK IN THE PRESS
NEW: Cephalopod pain: Academic Times, Scientific American Magazine
Cephalopod anesthesia: Science Magazine, Discover Magazine
Pain in invertebrates: LabAnimal, New Scientist, Washington Post, LATimes
Nociception in cephalopods: BrainFacts, JEB, NeuroDojo
Squid iridescence: LiveScience, Houston Chronicle, Huffington Post
“There are signs of change, too: Cephalopods at least now get some protection, in some parts of the world. “We are broadening our understanding of both pain and nociception,” Crook says.
“How can this not be interesting, even to the skeptics?”
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Sepia bandensis in one of the lab’s colony tanks