back to article Got any ecsta-sea? Boffins get octopuses high on MDMA – for science, duh

Humans and octopuses may have drastically different brains, but both react in a surprisingly similar way when under the effects of the drug MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy. Octopuses are solitary creatures, preferring to slink around cracks and crevices in rocks on the seabed rather than bothering to socialise with their …

  1. onefang

    "Some began breathing very quickly or slowly, changing colour rapidly"

    They where just trying to create their own light show. Should have shipped them off to a rave, they would have been popular.

  2. Crisp

    How can you do that to a poor octopus

    And not give it some glowsticks?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: How can you do that to a poor octopus

      Hah, your obvious joke was addressed ahead of time:

      Gül Dölen, a neuroscientist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the lead investigator on the study, said: “People are like, ‘Have you got any pictures of octopuses holding glow sticks?’ which I kind of ignore because that wasn’t really our objective. MDMA is a great tool for investigating whether or not an octopus can become social.”

  3. sabroni Silver badge
    Meh

    Ha Ha!

    Comedy animal abuse! Ho fucking ho.

    No wonder people think scientists are cunts.

    1. James 51

      Re: Ha Ha!

      It's more difficult legally and ethically to do these experiments in humans. Looking at animal analogues can tell us alot about them and ourselves.

      1. Danny 2

        Re: Ha Ha!

        "It's more difficult legally and ethically to do these experiments in humans."

        That might be true for some studies but up a sign reading "Free MDMA Science Study" and there would be teenage volunteers queuing around the block.

        1. James 51

          Re: Ha Ha!

          It's getting the home office to sign on the dotted line that would be the greatest hurdle.

    2. jmch Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Ha Ha!

      "Comedy animal abuse!"

      There's nothing particularly abusive about making animals feel happy though, is there? Considering all the pretty awful things that could happen to animals who get experimented upon, a slightly excessive dose of ecstasy is right at the bottom of the list.

      Not to mention that not-experimented-upon octopuses could end up as 'Pulpoa la plancha'...

      mmmmmm......

      1. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Ha Ha!

        Well if you give them between 10-400 milligrams per kilogram when humans would get 0.67 to 2 milligrams per kilogram, that's probably abusive.

    3. D@v3

      Re: Speak for yourself

      Most of the scientists i know are lovely people.

      (with backgrounds in various Chemical, Biological and Physical disciplines)

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ha Ha!

    "Excluded from further analysis"

    Because they died and the cunts don't want to admit they murdered sentient beings?

    Cue the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Ha Ha!

      Some began breathing very quickly or slowly, changing colour rapidly and a few went deathly white. They were hyper aroused and started moving crazily in a catatonic state. These animals were “were excluded from further analysis,” and hopefully taken to a chill-out tank with Kruder & Dorfmeister piped in.

  5. Dave 126 Silver badge

    Standard procedure for a come down is to gather round and watch BBC's Blue Planet. Dunno what the octopus equivilent would be.

    1. Kane
      Big Brother

      "Standard procedure for a come down is to gather round and watch BBC's Blue Planet. Dunno what the octopus equivilent would be."

      Big Brother?

    2. onefang

      "Standard procedure for a come down is to gather round and watch BBC's Blue Planet. Dunno what the octopus equivilent would be."

      Watching reality TV, with all those funny humans acting oddly.

    3. Dan 55 Silver badge

      CBeebies Daydreams on iPlayer and YouTube?

      It's got music by Squarepusher and everything.

  6. Chris G

    Humans in Ibiza

    Will mix MDMA with vodka and redbull and occasionally add viagra to that mix, I wonder what effect that cocktail will have on an octopus?

    Balcony diving into a pool should have been included. Balcony diving shows clearly how much the normal inhibitions and even fear to reckless behaviour are reduced by MDMA.

    1. Crisp

      Re: Humans in Ibiza

      MDMA doesn't reduce inhibitions or fear.

      You're thinking of alcohol.

      1. Chris G

        Re: Humans in Ibiza

        I have just retired after 15 years in Ibiza, some of my work included personal security and accompanying clients to clubs.

        A lot of the kids take only ecstasy and drink water but by the end of the evening, without alcohol they end up having sex in the streets and on the beach, a lot of the ones who drink with it become too out of it to even contemplate sex so I think the 'I love everyone' part of ecstasy effects does serve to lower inhibitions in as much as it raises libido enough to overcome inhibitions.

        No I have tried tried it myself, I quit mind altering drugs at the end of the '70s before 'e's became a thing but talking to enough people who have and observation is the basis for what I said.

        1. Alistair
          Windows

          Re: Humans in Ibiza

          @Chris G :

          That just depended on where you lived. No one *ever* called it ecstasy before the late 80's anyhow.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Humans in Ibiza

      They become Kraken.

    3. CommanderGalaxian
      FAIL

      Re: Humans in Ibiza

      Much the same as it will have on a human. Alcohol and MDMA are a shite mix.

  7. 0laf
    Boffin

    Hmmm I think the justification for the science could have been highlighted a bit more here. Scientists don't do animal studies lightly.

    Usually they'd rather avoid animal studies and stick to in-vitro experiments. Using animals involves a lot of paperwork and cost. Behavioural studies are not really possible without doing it this way though..

  8. Christoph

    Serious scientific experiment

    So what happens if you give LSD to octopuses, who can camouflage themselves by changing skin colour and pattern to match what they see as the surroundings?

    Wow the colours, man!

  9. 89724102172714182892114I7551670349743096734346773478647892349863592355648544996312855148587659264921

    There's no way to know if these poor abused animals lived the remainder of their days homeless and permanently deranged, offering sucker jobs for their next fix.

  10. LenG

    Average weight 60kg? You have got to be kidding!

  11. Mephistro
    Devil

    "California two-spot octopus"

    If these octopuses (octopii?) live near the coast of California, one would expect them to be mostly immune to MDMA!

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Re: "California two-spot octopus"

      Octopuses are Greek, not Roman so the plural would be octopedes (like centipus millipus :-)

      1. Nick Kew

        Re: "California two-spot octopus"

        Hmmm. Would octopedes imply a plurality of molluscs, or rather a plurality of feet?

        Come to think of it, isn't "octopus" itself a misnomer. That is to say, shouldn't it be eightfeet rather than eightfoot? And that's leaving aside the question of whether it's reasonable to describe their tentacles as legs: perhaps one could get there via some arachnalogy[1]?

        [1] arachnid analogy.

      2. Rustbucket

        Re: "California two-spot octopus"

        I think it's "octopodes". Strangely I have a couple of large dictionaries that give "octopi" as an option, even though as has been pointed out, it's technically wrong (latin ending).

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "California two-spot octopus"

      Octopuses.

      Octopi is a misnomer.

      1. Neil Barnes Silver badge
        Headmaster

        Re: "California two-spot octopus"

        Easy plural:

        One octopus.

        Another octopus.

        A third octopus...

        (I can only assume platypus pluralise in the same way).

      2. Unicornpiss
        Coat

        Re: "California two-spot octopus"

        "Octopuses.

        Octopi is a misnomer."

        Octopi = 8.1415926

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Headmaster

    Octopuses

    don't have tentacles, they have arms.

    WHY was this comment rejected?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder if they shat themselves when it kicked in....

  14. BadlyBornDroid

    Yeah whilst I'm sure its all for science and to ensure we don't all get rectal cancer or something, the animal abuse side of this does erk me a bit. next rave I go to though (which in all fairness would be the last one at my age), I'm dressing as an Octopus.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    But what about

    The tuesday after, how did they behave then? Did they decide they've had it and jump out of the tank?

  16. JLV

    an alternative to sacrificing a virgin?

    for the next time Lord Cthulhu awakes.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I've heard of this

    Were these aroused octopuses wearing Japanese school uniforms?

  18. Danny 2

    A rally of octopus

    The term of venery for a multitude of octopus is a rally. A rally of octopus, like a murder of crows.

    A streak of tigers (London Zoo has a charity naked human streak each year for tiger charities). A sleuth of bears. A charm of goldfinches. A wisdom of wombats. A parliament of rooks. A business of flies. A bellowing of bullfinches. A bed of eels. A stud of mares. A gaze of raccoons. A crash of rhinoceroses.

    A convocation of us.

    1. Swarthy

      Re: A rally of octopus

      A wunch of Bankers?

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