Experience of Pain and Fear in Fish from the Neurocognitive Perspective
Experience of Pain and Fear in Fish from the Neurocognitive Perspective

Summary/Abstract: The article is an outline of the current state of knowledge about the aspect of the sentience and internal life of fish, which is still too rarely taken into account – about the construction of pain experiences, affective states, and possible emotional experiences. In order to draw conclusions about the possibility of fish feeling emotions, firstly it is necessary to answer questions about simpler content that characterize the fish cognitive system: whether fish are able to create a special type of affective-physiological experience, such as pain with distress, and whether fish have simple affective states – fear or anxiety – which are correlated with the experience of pain. The rudimentary nature of these issues results from the assumption that the simplest behavioural reactions and cognitive-affective sensations are considered a necessary condition for the ability to construct more complex cognitive structures, such as sensorimotor experiences, mental representations and emotional states. The ability to experience pain and the correlated ability to feel negative affect, such as fear or anxiety, can be considered indicators of a species’ possession not only of physiological needs, but also of mental preferences. Thus, the ability to experience pain with fear and anxiety can be treated as a predictor of cognitive-behavioural flexibility and a certain degree of cognitive control in fish.

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