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Cephalopods such as octopuses are known to feel pain, but there is a lack of suitable analgesics for use in these animals.Credit: Mark Edward Eite/Alamy

Cephalopod neuroscience is booming. Octopuses, cuttlefish and squid have uniquely large, complex brains among invertebrates. As a News Feature reports, more neuroscientists are asking how these brains are responsible for cephalopods’ sophisticated cognitive abilities and complex behaviours. In doing so, they are applying current techniques from mammalian neuroscience. For example, they record neuronal activity in awake animals by surgically implanting electrodes or imaging devices in the brain, as well as physically restraining animals during recording sessions.

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