Research shows that up to 50% of the human brain is involved in visual processing. For octopuses, that number is roughly 70%. There are similarities between octopus and human eyes – both involve a lens and a pupil that allows light into the back of the eye – but the way our brains process vision is completely different.

University of Oregon biology professor Cris Niell has been studying these processes in his lab. The team recently published a paper in Current Biology on the ways octopuses organize visual information in their brains. He joins us to offer some insight into how octopuses see.