Pain and other feelings in human and animals
In this article the Damasios challenge Key that fish cannot feel pain because, counter to Key’s claim, pain is not the exclusive domain of the brain in humans or animals. The abstract:
“Evidence from neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neuropsychology suggests that the experience of feelings in humans does not depend exclusively on structures of the cerebral cortex. It does not seem warranted to deny the possibility of feeling in animals on the grounds that their cerebral cortices are not comparable to those of humans.”
The conclusion:
“We do not see any evidence in favor of the idea that the engendering of feelings in humans would be confined to the cerebral cortex. On the contrary, based on anatomical and physiological evidence, subcortical structures and even the peripheral and enteric nervous systems appear to make important contributions to the experience of feelings.”