Neural control of body patterning in cephalopods: from behavior to genomics

Cephalopods, a class of mollusks that includes octopus, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus, are among the most fascinating organisms in the animal kingdom. They are legendary for their intelligence, learning capacity, incredible behaviors and motor plasticity. Their large brain, and neural circuitry provides the neural foundation for the remarkable behavioral plasticity exhibited by these creatures. This talk will begin with a brief overview of cephalopods including some of their most important and unique characteristics. The major part of the lecture will focus on the cellular and molecular regulation of Body Patterning Behavior, the ability of these organisms to produce static and dynamic body displays within 500 milliseconds and arguably their most amazing behavior.