Despite being separated by 500 million years of evolution, a detailed blueprint for an intelligent, complex brain has been preserved in the bodies of two species, one of which is humans.
According to a study recently published in the scientific journal Current Biology, the other organism is squids. This phenomenon may also be present in several other species within the same group of cephalopods, which includes octopuses.
Scientists observed the neural cells connecting within the eyes of developing Doryteuthis pealeii squids and discovered a stunning secret: Their brains evolved independently to develop in much the same way that human brains have evolved.
Squids have developed brains in a similar way to humans from the embryonic stage – (Photo: Current Biology).
This may explain the superior intelligence of squids and other cephalopods, such as octopuses, which includes memory, tool use, camouflage, curiosity about their surroundings, the ability to feel boredom, daydream, and occasionally display malice or playfulness—traits that humans previously believed were “exclusive privileges” of their own species.
According to Live Science, this discovery also indicates that despite 500 million years of species divergence and evolution along distant family trees, it seems we and squids still share an ancient connection: a programming blueprint for advanced intelligence that Earth has uniquely bestowed upon these two groups of organisms.
To study the brains of squids from the embryonic stage, scientists employed fluorescent dyes to label a special type of stem cell known as neural progenitor cells, before examining how they developed through continuous imaging using microscopes.
Previously, researchers had also found that octopuses and squids possess certain types of mRNA (messenger RNA) within their neural tissues that are similar to those found in humans.
