Dear Self Interested Ontologists,
We have discussed whether self interest (i.e.
emotional actions and controls) are prevalent in only humans, or in other life
forms as well. This paper sheds some bright light on the subject and
concludes that all vertebrates appear to have homologous emotional lives.
What I found especially surprising is that, when the neocortex is removed in
animals, they continue to have the same emotional responses. Here is the
abstract and a link to the paper by Panskepp.
Panksepp
J.
Source
Department of Veterinary & Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology and
Physiology College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University,
Pullman, Washington, United States of America. jpanksepp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The issue of whether other animals have internally felt
experiences has vexed animal behavioral science since its inception. Although
most investigators remain agnostic on such contentious issues, there is now
abundant experimental evidence indicating that all mammals have negatively and
positively-valenced emotional networks concentrated in homologous brain regions
that mediate affective experiences when animals are emotionally aroused. That
is what the neuroscientific evidence indicates. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The
relevant lines of evidence are as follows: 1) It is easy to elicit powerful
unconditioned emotional responses using localized electrical stimulation of the
brain (ESB); these effects are concentrated in ancient subcortical brain
regions. Seven types of emotional arousals have been described; using a special
capitalized nomenclature for such primary process emotional systems, they are
SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC/GRIEF and PLAY. 2) These brain circuits
are situated in homologous subcortical brain regions in all vertebrates tested.
Thus, if one activates FEAR arousal circuits in rats, cats or primates, all
exhibit similar fear responses. 3) All primary-process emotional-instinctual
urges, even ones as complex as social PLAY, remain intact after radical
neo-decortication early in life; thus, the neocortex is not essential for the
generation of primary-process emotionality. 4) Using diverse measures, one can
demonstrate that animals like and dislike ESB of brain regions that evoke
unconditioned instinctual emotional behaviors: Such ESBs can serve as 'rewards'
and 'punishments' in diverse approach and escape/avoidance learning tasks. 5)
Comparable ESB of human brains yield comparable affective experiences. Thus,
robust evidence indicates that raw primary-process (i.e., instinctual,
unconditioned) emotional behaviors and feelings emanate from homologous brain
functions in all mammals (see Appendix S1), which are regulated by higher brain
regions. Such findings suggest nested-hierarchies of BrainMind affective
processing, with primal emotional functions being foundational for
secondary-process learning and memory mechanisms, which interface with
tertiary-process cognitive-thoughtful functions of the BrainMind.
If there was any doubt, it seems that this should
clear it up.
-Rich
Sincerely,
Rich Cooper
EnglishLogicKernel.com
Rich AT EnglishLogicKernel DOT com
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