Anxiety, a behavioral consequence of stress, has been characterized in humans and some vertebrates, but not invertebrates. Here, we demonstrate that after exposure to stress, crayfish sustainably avoided the aversive illuminated arms of an aquatic plus-maze. This behavior was correlated with an increase in brain serotonin and was abolished by the injection of the benzodiazepine anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide. Serotonin injection into unstressed crayfish induced avoidance; again, this effect was reversed by injection with chlordiazepoxide. Our results demonstrate that crayfish exhibit a form of anxiety similar to that described in vertebrates, suggesting the conservation of several underlying mechanisms during evolution. Analyses of this ancestral behavior in a simple model reveal a new route to understanding anxiety and may alter our conceptions of the emotional status of invertebrates.

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is acknowledged as a major neuromodulator of nervous systems in both invertebrates and vertebrates. It has been proposed for several decades that it impacts animal cognition and behavior. In spite of a completely distinct organization of the 5-HT systems across the animal kingdom, several lines of evidence suggest that the influences of 5-HT on behavior and cognition are evolutionary conserved. In this review, we have selected some behaviors classically evoked when addressing the roles of 5-HT on nervous system functions.In particular, we focus on the motor activity, arousal, sleep and circadian rhythm, feeding, social interactions and aggressiveness, anxiety, mood, learning and memory, or impulsive/compulsive dimension and behavioral flexibility. The roles of 5-HT, illustrated in both invertebrates and vertebrates, show that it is more able to potentiate or mitigate the neuronal responses necessary for the fine-tuning of most behaviors, rather than to trigger or halt a specific behavior. 5-HT is, therefore, the prototypical neuromodulator fundamentally involved in the adaptation of all organisms across the animal kingdom.The organization of the 5-HT systems is completely different between species ranging from a limited number of cells in Aplysia or Drosophila (100 5-HT immunoreactive cells) to several thousand neurons in vertebrates. The variety and the heterogeneity of 5-HT neurons have been highlighted in vertebrates [7] as well as in invertebrates [8]. In general, the 5-HT systems in animals comprise 5-HT neurons, which share a particular shape made of thousands of varicosities, leading to the concept of volume transmission [9], and several 5-HT receptors (5-HTRs). In vertebrates, 5-HT neurons are localized in the midbrain raphe nuclei described as the B1-B9 cell groups [1,10]. The raphe pallidus, obscurus, and pontis form a caudal cluster (B1-B5), whereas the dorsal raphe and median raphe form a rostral cluster in the pons (B6-B9) [11]. The caudal raphe group projects to the spinal cord and the rostral group to the forebrain via an extensive and diffuse innervation. The dorsal raphe nucleus contains the highest number of 5-HT neurons and its anatomical sub-regions display some degrees of specific innervation of the forebrain [12][13][14]. The median and dorsal raphe nuclei receive excitatory and inhibitory inputs from most brain areas [15]. In crustaceans or insects, 5-HT neurons are widely present in each of the ventral cord ganglia, display large local ramifications that act in multiple neuropil areas, and some axonal branches form three pairs of rostrocaudal fibers [16][17][18][19]. Presumably, two of those fibers would project anteriorly and one posteriorly to the entire nervous system [20]. 5-HT neurons are often localized close to sensory integration input area in the brain of arthropods and some 5-HT cells in the abdominal ganglia of crayfish nerve cord are sensitive to the mechanical stimulation of abdominal segmental fringe hairs [21]. In cnidarians, 5-HT cells ...

In the animal kingdom, biogenic amines are widespread modulators of the nervous system that frequently interact to control mood. Our previous investigations in crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) have established that stress induces changes in brain serotonin (5-HT) concentrations that are responsible for the appearance of anxiety-like behavior (ALB). Here, we further analyze the roles of 5-HT and another biogenic amine, dopamine (DA), on the crayfish response to stress. We show that the intensity of crayfish ALB depends on the intensity of stressful stimulation and is associated with increased concentrations of 5-HT in the brain. These 5-HT levels were significantly correlated, before, as well as after stress, with those of DA, which were approximately 3-to 5-times less abundant. However, whereas the degree of ALB was clearly correlated with brain 5-HT concentrations, it was not significantly correlated with DA. Moreover, in contrast to injections of 5-HT, DA injections were not able to elicit a stress response or ALB. In addition, 5-HT and DA levels were not modified by treatment with the anxiolytic chlordiazepoxide, confirming that suppression of ALB by this GABA-A receptor ligand acts downstream and is independent of changes in crayfish bioamine levels. Our study also provides evidence that the anxiogenic effect of 5-HT injections can be prevented by a preliminary injection of 5-HT antagonists. Altogether, our results emphasize that the rises in brain concentrations of 5-HT, but not DA, play a role in controlling the induction and the intensity of crayfish ALB.