Cephalopod
Neurobiology
Research Lead – Dr Amy Courtney
Coleoid cephalopods, including octopus, squid and cuttlefish, evolved large brains, camera type eyes and sophisticated behaviours independently from vertebrates, providing a unique opportunity to explore alternative solutions to complex neural function. Despite this, relatively little is known about how neurotransmitters and their receptors regulate information processing in the cephalopod brain.
Our research aims to understand how neurochemical signalling shapes visual processing across molecular, circuit, behavioural and evolutionary scales. We use cephalopod hatchlings, including Octopus vulgaris and the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis, as experimentally tractable models for linking molecular mechanisms to neural activity and behaviour. To achieve this, we integrate receptor electrophysiology, spatial gene expression, and calcium imaging, with future plans to establish quantitative behavioural analysis.
By comparing neurochemical signalling within and across cephalopod species, we aim to uncover both fundamental principles of nervous system function as well as evolutionary innovations.
Our Research Impacts
Novel neurotransmission in the octopus visual system
During her postdoctoral research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Cambridge, UK), Dr Courtney established an experimental framework to study neurochemical signalling in the Octopus vulgaris hatchling visual system, combining functional receptor characterisation, spatial mapping and calcium imaging.
This work revealed two novel octopus receptors; one mediates fast dopamine excitation (which usually activates slower receptors in vertebrates), while the other mediates fast acetylcholine inhibition (which is usually excitatory in vertebrates).
The Octopus vulgaris visual system therefore reveals a fundamental departure from vertebrate neurotransmission, highlighting divergent molecular solutions for complex brain function.
Key Publications
Our Team
Dr Amy Courtney
Anne Warner Research Fellow
Dr Amy Courtney
Anne Warner Research Fellow
amycou@mba.ac.uk
I began as an Anne Warner Fellow at the MBA in April 2026. My research aims to dissect the neurochemical and functional architecture of the cephalopod viusal system and determine how it generates coordinated behaviour.
I obtained my BSc in Biomedical Sciences from University College Dublin, Ireland. I then remained at UCD to complete my PhD in the laboratory of Dr Mark Pickering, where I established the comb jelly Pleurobrachia pileus as a model organism for systems neuroscience.
In 2020 I joined the laboratory of William Schafer at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge as a postdoctoral researcher. During this time, I investigated the evolution of ligand gated ion channels in Octopus vulgaris and their roles in visual information processing. This work was carried out in close collaboration with the laboratory of Eve Seuntjens at KU Leuven in Belgium.
