Normally Antisocial Octopuses Get All Touchy Feely on MDMA

Octopuses normally don’t want anything to do with each other. But neuroscientists gave MDMA (known also as E, ecstasy, molly, and more) to the eight-legged creatures and found that octopuses react similarly to humans on the drug: with a burst of serotonin that makes them more loving, reports a study published in Current Biology on Thursday. Octopus brains and human brains are evolutionarily as different as they go, but both people and octopuses share genes for a protein that binds serotonin to brain cells and causes the overflow of loving feelings. When two octopuses had ecstasy, they’d move from opposite ends of a cage towards each other—going so far as to hug, an unusual move from the normally isolated creatures, according to NPR. Researchers aren’t sure if it’s affection or if the octopuses simply became more comfortable with each other’s bodies. Regardless, the study shows the potential far-reaching effects of MDMA for those struggling with sociability, and that even the most curmudgeonly of animals can become cuddle bugs with a little MDMA.