Octopus Motor Control

The octopus, with its eight long and flexible arms, is an excellent example of the independent evolution of highly efficient motor behavior in a soft-bodied animal. Studies will be summarized to show that the amazing behavioral motor abilities of the octopus are achieved through a special embodied organization of its flexible body, unusual morphology, and a unique central and peripheral distribution of its extremely large nervous system. This special embodied organization of brain–body–environment reciprocal interactions makes it possible to overcome the difficulties involved in generation and control of movement in an animal, which unlike vertebrates and arthropods lacks rigid skeletal appendages.