Using Octopuses To Understand Depression

Researchers often use
animals to help them resolve problems that can be applied to people. Dr.
Jean Boal, a biology professor at Millersville University of Pennsylvania,
is developing a new and unique way to research the causes and effects of
depression with the help of octopuses.


Boal, along with Dr. Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq, a visiting postdoctoral
fellow from Universite de Caen in France, is performing behavioral
experiments with octopuses. Darmaillacq will be working with Boal through
February 16.



"Along with biology student, Katherine Heldt, we will be researching
the effects different conditions have on the octopuses to gain information
on depression," explained Boal.



She explained that the first part of the research will include training
the octopuses to distinguish between white and black rods and reward it
with food if it goes to one rod and no reward if it goes to the other.
Next, for two weeks they will house half the octopuses in enriched
conditions and the other half in impoverished conditions and then reverse
the housing for another two weeks.



"My prediction is that if the octopuses are like rats (or people), the
octopuses moved from impoverished to enriched conditions should be 'happy'
and 'optimistic,'" said Boal. "The octopuses moved from enriched to
impoverished conditions should be 'sad' and 'pessimistic.' We can test this
by presenting them with rods that have black-and-white stripes. Optimistic
animals will see the striped rods as like the ones they were rewarded with.
Pessimistic animals will see the striped rods as like the ones that had no
reward."



"Darmaillacq's primary goal is to collaborate with me on these
behavioral experiments," said Boal. "Her secondary goals are perfecting her
English and getting to know the United States."



Boal will be traveling to France this summer to work with Darmaillacq
in her home setting. They will conduct the same type of studies, but with
cuttlefish instead of octopuses.



Along with their student collaborator, they will present the results of
their experiments at an international behavior meeting and publish their
results in a peer-reviewed journal.


Millersville University

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