Do Octopuses Feel Pain?
According to this, the research behind how octopuses (and other cephalopods) feel pain is still inconclusive. Our squiddy friends don't really have pain receptors like we do, but react to stimuli which might be painful for them. Its a hot question in bioethics, as research is highly desired (like uplift, someday!) but as with all laboratory animals, suffering is to be minimized.
Edit: made the thread topic less spamtastic.
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Do octopuses feel pain?
Mon, 2013-09-02 09:41
#1
Armoured
Do octopuses feel pain?
Wed, 2013-09-04 01:20
#2
rfmcdonald
Cephalopod minds are quite
Cephalopod minds are quite alien from vertebrate minds. To what extent can cephalopods experience emotions analogous to distress, for instance?
Wed, 2013-09-04 08:02
#3
Arenamontanus
Distress is probably not too
Distress is probably not too hard. The real problem is the social emotions: guilt, shame, fellowship, love, compassion, pride - these matter to social animals. But most cephalopods are solitary.
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Wed, 2013-09-25 17:28
#4
Arenamontanus
Interesting observation:http:
Interesting observation:
http://boingboing.net/2013/09/25/you-cant-vaccinate-an-octopu.html
I assume all uplifts got upgraded immune systems. Or maybe they are more dependent on medichines than we think.
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Thu, 2013-10-03 07:27
#5
nerdnumber1
Baseline octopuses may
Baseline octopuses may experience the sensation of damage differently. They are much less shy about removing and eating their own limbs than most vertebrates, and their neural network makes it possible that damage is reacted to locally by the neurons in the arm rather than a higher-level consciousness. Regardless, it is very likely that octomorphs were modified to allow experience of pain at the conscious level, if baselines didn't have it before (to better mimic the human brain and learning by negative reinforcement).