Stuck to the glass tank at the Rockefeller University in New York is Costello the octopus. He naps quietly, and as he enters a period of active sleep, his skin phases through a variety of colors and textures.However, not long after, Costello starts frantically moving. He wraps his arms around his body, and spins around like a tornado. Finally, Costello extends his mantle and inks, a common predator-defense mechanism, clouding his tank.
Eric Ramos, a marine scientist who studied Costello the octopus through this episode said on Live Science’s that “… he (Costello) just got up like nothing had happened, and he resumed his day as normal.” It was definitely not normal. Confused scientists working with Costello looked through many pieces of footage and found three other similar incidents.
Scientists don’t know what this behavior means, but one possibility is that he was having a nightmare. To Dr. Magnasco, the wrapping of the arms around Costello’s body was almost like a defensive reaction, and the inking might be Costello trying to make himself seem larger. The strangling of the pipe was like trying to defeat a threat.
Other justifications explained that it was possibly a seizure, a neurological problem, or it could be a result of his old age, since Costello died shortly after his ‘nightmare’. Since Costello had stomach parasites, Dr. Kuba suggested that the curling of the arms could’ve just been the cramps.Other scientists say the researchers needed to address the questions they were receiving and gather more information about Costello’s usual sleeping behavior.
Dr. Kuba and Dr. Gutnick have recently started recording electrical signals from an octopus’s brain. There’s a possibility that we could start looking at octopuses’ brain activity during sleep and connect behaviors and body patterning while sleeping with brainwaves linked to dreaming.
In 2021, researchers found that during ‘active’ sleep, octopuses’ skin changed colors every one to two minutes roughly every half an hour, similar to the REM phase that occurs in humans, when dreams occur.
Dr. Gutnick added, “You have to show that they have dreams before you think about nightmares.”
Nevertheless, Dr. Ramos and his team hope that his findings will encourage other researchers to keep an eye out for any more similar instances such as Costello’s ‘nightmare’.
Eric Ramos, a marine scientist who studied Costello the octopus through this episode said on Live Science’s that “… he (Costello) just got up like nothing had happened, and he resumed his day as normal.” It was definitely not normal. Confused scientists working with Costello looked through many pieces of footage and found three other similar incidents.
Scientists don’t know what this behavior means, but one possibility is that he was having a nightmare. To Dr. Magnasco, the wrapping of the arms around Costello’s body was almost like a defensive reaction, and the inking might be Costello trying to make himself seem larger. The strangling of the pipe was like trying to defeat a threat.
Other justifications explained that it was possibly a seizure, a neurological problem, or it could be a result of his old age, since Costello died shortly after his ‘nightmare’. Since Costello had stomach parasites, Dr. Kuba suggested that the curling of the arms could’ve just been the cramps.Other scientists say the researchers needed to address the questions they were receiving and gather more information about Costello’s usual sleeping behavior.
Dr. Kuba and Dr. Gutnick have recently started recording electrical signals from an octopus’s brain. There’s a possibility that we could start looking at octopuses’ brain activity during sleep and connect behaviors and body patterning while sleeping with brainwaves linked to dreaming.
In 2021, researchers found that during ‘active’ sleep, octopuses’ skin changed colors every one to two minutes roughly every half an hour, similar to the REM phase that occurs in humans, when dreams occur.
Dr. Gutnick added, “You have to show that they have dreams before you think about nightmares.”
Nevertheless, Dr. Ramos and his team hope that his findings will encourage other researchers to keep an eye out for any more similar instances such as Costello’s ‘nightmare’.
