Conditional discrimination in Octopus vulgaris

Abstract

Conditional discrimination in the octopus (Octopus vulgaris) was studied using successive discrimination training. The experimental animals were divided into two groups, and a barrel-shaped white object (stimulus) was presented to each group. One of the groups was rewarded with food for responding to the stimulus, but only when the tank was aerated, whereas the other group was rewarded with food for responding to the stimulus when the aeration was switched off. The number of trials in which octopuses responded to the stimulus, and the latency of the responses, were significantly different between trials with the aeration on and trials with the aeration off, in both groups. Therefore, the octopuses learned to conditionally discriminate.