By Jamie Ducharme

A new study suggests that humans might have more in common with octopuses than it appears: they both respond to at least one psychoactive drug in a similar, sociable way.

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University and the Marine Biological Laboratory on Cape Cod found that, just like humans, notoriously reserved (and sometimes violent) octopuses act friendly and social when they’re exposed to MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy or Molly. That finding, published in Current Biology, is more than just a fun party fact: It suggests that octopus and human brains are fundamentally similar in some ways, meaning that researchers could feasibly use the marine creatures to learn more about the human brain. Read more …