Wildlife

Fish May Experience Emotion and Conciousness: Study

Fish have been observed exhibiting “emotional fever” when placed under stress, leading researchers to suggest that the creatures may experience emotions and consciousness.

Emotional fever, or the tendency to have higher body temperatures when stressed, had been thought confined to more complex animals.

A University of Barcelona team placed zebrafish in a tank with compartments at various temperatures.

The group that was exposed to stress, then released, mainly moved toward warmer water, increasing their body temperature by 3.6 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

“These findings are very interesting — expressing emotional fever suggests for the first time that fish have some degree of consciousness," said researcher Sonia Rey.