Nervous system evolution
Animal brains come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from a handful of neurons to elaborate nervous systems. Large, complex nervous systems have evolved twice in animals: in the vertebrates (fish, mammals and birds), and in the soft-bodied cephalopods (octopus, squid, and cuttlefish). While vertebrate nervous systems are well studied, we are only beginning to apply modern molecular tools to the study of cephalopod nervous systems. By studying the independently evolved complex nervous systems of cephalopods, we can understand both common principles and unique feature underpinning the evolution, development, and organization of large nervous systems.
Key Publications:
Albertin CB, Katz PW. Evolution of cephalopod nervous systems. Current biology. 33(20):R1087-R1091
Orvis J, Albertin CB, Shrestha P, Chen S, Zheng M, Rodriguez CJ, Tallon LJ, Mahurkar A, Zimin AV, Kim M, Liu K, Kandel ER, Fraser CM, Sossin W, Abrams TW. 2022. The evolution of synaptic and cognitive capacity: Insights from the nervous system transcriptome of Aplysia. PNAS. 119(28): e2122301119.
Albertin CB, Simakov O, Mitros T, Wang YZ, Pungor JR, Edsinger-Gonzalez E, Brenner S, Ragsdale CW, Rokhsar DS. 2015. The octopus genome and the evolution of cephalopod neural and morphological novelties. Nature. 524(7564):220-4.
Shigeno S, Parnaik R, Albertin CB, Ragsdale CW. 2015. Evidence for a cordal, not ganglionic, pattern of cephalopod brain neurogenesis. Zoological letters. 1(26)