ArticlePloS one2016
Pull or Push? Octopuses Solve a Puzzle Problem.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Octopus-inspired muscle activation unlocks high-DOF motion from a single actuator.Science advances · 2026Article
- Protocol for genotyping cephalopod sex using a skin swab and quantitative PCR.STAR protocols · 2026Article
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- Protocol for genotyping cephalopod sex using a skin swab and quantitative PCR.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A non-invasive method to genotype cephalopod sex by quantitative PCR.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Natural Habitat and Wild Behaviors of the Dwarf Cuttlefish,Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Topology, dynamics, and control of a muscle-architected soft arm.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Behavioral and genetic correlates of heterogeneity in learning performance in individual honeybees, Apis mellifera.PloS one · 2024Article
- The Inner Lives of Cephalopods.Integrative and comparative biology · 2023Article
- Exploring the Effect of Age on the Reproductive and Stress Physiology ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Effects of Environmental Enrichment on the Behavior ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Novel object recognition in Octopus maya.Animal cognition · 2023Article
- Article
- The evolution of synaptic and cognitive capacity: Insights from the nervous system transcriptome ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Neurotransmission and neuromodulation systems in the learning and memory network of Octopus vulgaris.Journal of morphology · 2022Article
- The effect of unexpected rewards on decision making in cuttlefish.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Humans, fish, spiders and bees inherited working memory and attention from their last common ancestor.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Chimpanzees' behavioral flexibility, social tolerance, and use of tool-composites in a progressively challenging foraging problem.iScience · 2021Article
- Article
- Sensorial Hierarchy inAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Octopuses have large brains and exhibit complex behaviors, but relatively little is known about their cognitive abilities. Here we present data from a five-level learning and problem-solving experiment. Seven octopuses (Octopus vulgaris) were first trained to open an L shaped container to retrieve food (level 0). After learning the initial task all animals followed the same experimental protocol, first they had to retrieve this L shaped container, presented at the same orientation, through a tight fitting hole in a clear Perspex partition (level 1). This required the octopuses to perform both pull and release or push actions. After reaching criterion the animals advanced to the next stage of the test, which would be a different consistent orientation of the object (level 2) at the start of the trial, an opaque barrier (level 3) or a random orientation of the object (level 4). All octopuses were successful in reaching criterion in all levels of the task. At the onset of each new level the performance of the animals dropped, shown as an increase in working times. However, they adapted quickly so that overall working times were not significantly different between levels. Our findings indicate that octopuses show behavioral flexibility by quickly adapting to a change in a task. This can be compared to tests in other species where subjects had to conduct actions comprised of a set of motor actions that cannot be understood by a simple learning rule alone.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.