How does the cephalopod brain support learning and memory?

The cephalopod brain is a highly centralized and complex structure, with major ganglionic centers fused and concentrated around the esophagus. This advanced organization supports a sophisticated behavioral repertoire, including the ability to discriminate between objects, learn, and retain memory.123

Within this centralized system, specific brain regions are compartmentalized to handle distinct functions. The highest centers of the cephalopod brain are identified as associative areas, which are responsible for these complex cognitive processes. Through laboratory studies—often involving food acceptance, reward and punishment, and maze navigation—researchers have successfully mapped various functional centers of the brain, as well as the transmission and receiving pathways that facilitate learning.13

While simpler mollusks also exhibit basic forms of learning such as habituation and sensitization through synaptic plasticity, cephalopods represent a peak in nervous system development, allowing for significantly greater flexibility of response and the ability to learn complex behaviors, such as attacking or avoiding specific prey.14