A learning and memory area in the octopus brain manifests a vertebrate-like long-term potentiation.

Cellular mechanisms underlying learning and memory were investigated in the octopus using a brain slice preparation of the vertical lobe, an area of the octopus brain involved in learning and memory. Field potential recordings revealed long-term potentiation (LTP) of glutamatergic synaptic field potentials similar to that in vertebrates. These findings suggest that convergent evolution has led to the selection of similar activity-dependent synaptic processes that mediate complex forms of learning and memory in vertebrates and invertebrates.