The cephalopod visual system processes light intensity and polarization information through a hierarchical architecture where functionally distinct cell types in the superficial optic lobe cortex transform retinal polarization angle sensitivity into angle-invariant contrast signals in deeper layers, which are then integrated additively with intensity information in the medulla to provide robust short-range object detection underwater, revealing convergent principles of hierarchical visual processing shared between cephalopods and vertebrates.

Coleoid cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish and squid, hereafter ‘cephalopods’) have evolved a range of complex visually-guided behaviours, from dexterous hunting to skin-pattern based camouflage and communication. They have also evolved sensitivity to the polarization of light, an adaptation thought to help detect camouflaged or semitransparent predators and prey in low visibility underwater environments. How visual information is processed by the cephalopod brain to support their behaviours remains unclear. Here, studying the bigfin reef squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana, we performed calcium imaging and electrophysiological recordings from populations of neurons in the large visual center of the cephalopod brain, the optic lobe (OL). We revealed that the retina-recipient superficial OL contains a diversity of functionally distinct cell types, spatially organized into sub-layers, processing spatio-temporal features of light intensity and possessing polarization angle specificity. More complex features, e.g. direction selectivity, are seen in deeper regions of the OL cortex, which also exhibits spontaneous waves of neural activity in the absence of visual input. Neurons in the downstream OL medulla exhibit visual receptive field sizes and spontaneous activity levels which increase with brain depth, consistent with the hierarchical processing of visual information through the medulla’s tree-like anatomical organization. Medulla neurons exhibit sensitivity to local decreases in the degree of linear polarization (DoLP), which they integrate additively with light intensity information. Underwater imaging in the squid’s habitat off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, demonstrate that polarization sensitivity confers a robust short-range boost in object-background contrast over a range of objects and environmental conditions. These findings reveal convergent principles of hierarchical visual processing shared between cephalopods and vertebrates, and highlight how cephalopods utilise their distinct adaptation of polarization sensitivity to solve universal visual challenges underwater.