Crayfish may be smarter than we thought, as a study finds they can experience “anxiety“

Crustaceans really are spineless, according to a recent study in the journal Science.

(Photo By Good cause for worry... Photo: Michelle Walz / Flickr)

It’s not just humans who love to worry. New research at the University of Bordeaux has demonstrated that crayfish subject to high stress will develop anxiety-like symptoms – but human medicines can cure them of it.

The study is one of many in recent years to highlight the potential for emotional intelligence in non-humans. The researchers, from the Aquitaine Institute for Cognitive and Integrative Neuroscience (INCIA), managed to induce a state of anxiety in the fish, which they subsequently cured by administering drugs.