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Not all animals have neurons; Trichoplax and sponges lack nerve cells altogether. Neurons may be packed to form structures such as the brain of vertebrates or the neural ganglions of insects . The number of neurons and their relative abundance in different parts of the brain is a determinant of neural function and, consequently, of behavior.
Several experiments cannot be readily reconciled with the belief that some animal species are intelligent, insightful, or possess a theory of mind. Jean-Henri Fabre [160] (1823–1915), setting the stage for all subsequent experiments of this kind, argued that insects "obey their compelling instinct, without realizing what they do". For ...
The corvids (ravens, crows, jays, magpies, etc.) and psittacines (parrots, macaws, and cockatoos) are often considered the most intelligent birds, and are among the most intelligent animals in general. Pigeons, finches, domestic fowl, and birds of prey have also been common subjects of intelligence studies.
Very intelligent animals can actually be more difficult to train because they may begin to predict what they will be asked to do, and then will perform it without being asked.
Australian biologist Culum Brown has argued that fish may give the appearance of being less intelligent than they are due to differences between aquatic and terrestrial environments. [6] Fish hold records for the relative brain weights of vertebrates. Most vertebrate species have similar brain-to-body mass ratios.
Though these criteria are difficult to measure in nonhuman animals, cephalopods are the most intelligent invertebrates. The study of cephalopod intelligence also has an important comparative aspect in the broader understanding of animal cognition because it relies on a nervous system fundamentally different from that of vertebrates. [3]
On the one hand, one hypothesis proposes that some non-human animals have complex cognitive processes which allow them to attribute mental states to other individuals, sometimes called "mind-reading" while another proposes that non-human animals lack these skills and depend on more simple learning processes such as associative learning; [4] or ...
Cats are intelligent animals that have evolved to communicate with their human owners in various ways. Staring is just one of the numerous methods your cat employs to communicate with you.