Insane in the brain squid Listens to Cypress Hill

OK...did a search had to share...well this blew my mind. What happens when audio is converted to an electrical signal, and applied gently to tissue, in this case the dorsal side of a squid fin? Just check out the video above created by the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts where a squid was hooked up to a special iPod playing Cypress Hill’s 1993 hit Insane in the Brain.

This is called neural control of tuneable skin iridescence in squid. How this could be applied in the real world is any ones guess.

LINK

If someone wired me up with that awful row I'd probably turn a nasty shade of red.

That poor squid, I hope it eats the researchers.

one thing that has always amazed me about the life that lives on planet earth.
there's a certain level where things are connected. whether its a creature trying to not get eaten, and thus creates strategy on how to interact with the predictor, or just living in a multiple species habitat where all things respect their environment of other creatures.

to the octopus that sneaks out of his cage at night to rob thier other aquarium.

it's all interconnected. maybe the seemingly distant life of a squid appreciates music?
awesome footage.
thx for sharing.

reply to post by flyingfish


Looks like animal cruelty to me. They should hook themselves up to electrical current and play some music.


If this is research they should have there grants pulled.

Originally posted by VoidHawk
If someone wired me up with that awful row I'd probably turn a nasty shade of red.

That poor squid, I hope it eats the researchers.

I halfheartedly agree with you - I would have liked to see how different genres of music affect the squid, though. I'm not sure if they do this when the squid is alive? I feel like I've read somewhere that they use a recently deceased specimen so the chromatophores still respond efficiently.

Insane in the membrane. Insane, got no brain... (This will be stuck in my head for quite some time now. So 90s.)

reply to post by flyingfish


S&F, first of all.

I am not sure what to say on this one, other than this is honestly one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time.

Granted, I am not sure of what practical use such a thing could possibly have in the real world...But, still very cool.


But...Others do raise a good point... They are basically shocking the squid...Right? That makes it not so cool...Assuming it causes pain to the squid... I wonder if the squid is alive when the do this or not?

This is awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Hey, I am not a proponent of treating animals in a cruel manner.. but in the name of science I cannot argue this one. Sound and electrical impulses have amazing effects on all living tissue and we know practically nothing about all of that, it is something they should be studying. Whose to say that the electrical impulses even hurt? We have the same thing going on in our mind all of the time.

It reminds me of cymatics in a way, although that is visible sound and vibration. And usually more uniform and symmetrical in it's effect.

Even if the squid is alive, they are manipulating his existing capabilities to change color and pattern, something that is naturally triggered by electrical signals from the brain.

At least, that seems to be the case.

They are not zapping the thing.

edit,

We tested our cockroach leg stimulus protocol on the squid’s chromatophores. We used a suction electrode to attach to the squid’s fin nerve, then connected the electrode to an iPod nano as our stimulator. The results were both interesting and beautiful. The video below is a view through an 8x microscope zoomed in on the dorsal side of the fin.

news.backyardbrains.com...

Aug 27 2012: They also did a similar experiment with the body of a dead squid. They connected the nerve in the end of the squid's fin with the exposed wires of earbuds, then played music. The minute charge from the headphones was enough to stimulate the chromatophores in the squid's skin, and they changed colors to the rhythm of the song

www.ted.com... t=awesm-publisher

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing it. I wish they made more videos with different songs lol.

Why would anyone want to do this?