Do Animals have Emotions? Part of the Series: Animal Minds
BBC
Does a goldfish feel imprisoned and depressed in its bowl? It seems natural to assume that animals have emotions, that a dog is happy when it wags its tail, or that a chimpanzee trapped in a cage is miserable.
Do Animals Have Emotions? says that despite the fact that there is growing evidence that animals do feel emotion, many scientists still believe that this is pure sentimentalism. Dr Marian Dawkins of Oxford University says: "One of the biggest mistakes we can make is assuming that animals are exactly like us." But Dr Jane Goodall is emphatic in her belief that animals, and in particular the chimpanzees that she has studied, do have emotions.
Animals have a pleasure centre in their brains driven by the chemical dopamine. When this tiny part of the brain is stimulated with an electric current it produces sensations of pure pleasure. Rats subjected to such stimulation neglect food and drink just for an extra buzz, and humans are said to experience feelings similar to orgasm.
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