Can human neurological tests of consciousness be applied to octopus?

Abstract

If the anatomy, physiology and behaviour of a species differ substantially from our own, as in the case of the octopus, can we infer that the species is unconscious? In the daily clinical care of patients with disorders of consciousness we face many similar challenges: our current approach with these patients - a combination of behavioural and brain imaging-based assessments - might also be a viable route to investigating octopus consciousness.