IS CONSCIOUSNESS PRESENT IN FISH?

Québec Michel Cabanac Département de Psychiatrie & Neurosciences IS CONSCIOUSNESS PRESENT IN FISH?

PROLEGOMENON - what is consciousness? - what is an emergence? - natural selection HOW MAY WE ACCEPT CONSCIOUSNESS IN AN ANIMAL? - signs of emotion - signs of sensory pleasure MAMMALS BIRDS REPTILES AMPHIBIANS FISH POSSIBLE CONFIRMATIONS - sleep - play CONCLUSION

Z HEDONICITY X U A I Q L INTENSITY T Y Y What is consciousness? T DURATION

An emergence is, The appearance in a system of new properties that could not be anticipated from the individual properties of the elements that constitute the system A couple of examples...

IN OUT capacity coil capacity + coil

Other examples: Atoms H+ & H+ & O-- ——> WATER with its extraordinary proerties Or, The inert separate parts——> a car, with its properties of moving, accelerating, etc.

”I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, If usefull, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection “ (The Origin of Species) Charles Darwin 1809-1882

C. Lloyd MORGAN (1852-1936) Mario BUNGE (2002) Université McGill Leda COSMIDES & John TOOBY (2002) U. of California

Postulate: Consciousness evolved from sensation, i.e., sensation was the first element of consciousness Correlate: Consciousness kept the structure of sensation

Z T DURATION HEDONICITY X Q U A L I INTENSITY T Y Y WHAT IS EMOTION?

« The cardinal mystery of neurobiology is not self love or dreams of immortality but intentionality » E. O. Wilson, 1978 (On Human Nature). « L'homme est né pour le plaisir: il le sent il n'en faut point d'autre preuve. Il suit donc sa raison en se donnant au plaisir » Pascal, 1623-1662 (Discours sur les passions de l'amour)

Z T DURATION HEDONICITY X Q U A L I INTENSITY T Y Y SENSORY PLEASURE

Finaly, in the thinking being, behavior is a question of motivation « Surprise. Here is an expert in motivation! »

RAT 3 9 3 4 brain 3 2 3 8 3 0 (°C) 3 7 2 8 ) tail 2 6 3 6 2 4 0 5 1 0 1 5 2 0 2 5 3 0 3 5 4 0 ( min ) TIME Emotional fever T brain (ºC) T tail (ºC) Briese E., Cabanac M. (1991). Physiol. Behav.49: 1153-1157

Emotional tachycardia Cabanac A., Cabanac M. (2000) Behav. Proc. 52: 89-95.

Ingestive mimics Aversive mimics Norgren R., Grill H. G. (1982) Gustatory pleasure Cabanac M., Lafrance L. (1989)

Sensory pleasure in rat Cabanac M., Serres P. (1976). J. comp. physiol. Psychol.90: 435-441.

Pleasure and conflict of motivations in rat Cabanac M., Johnson K.G. (1983) Physiol. Behav. 31: 249-253.

Mammals: conclusion - signs of emotion (fever, tachycardia); - signs of sensory pleasure (taste, temperature, conflict of motivations…); - maximizing pleasure plaisir motivates behavior. CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKELY TO EXIST IN MAMMALS

I. Pepperberg & Alex (2001)

Aristote Psittacus erythacus (« Aristoteles dixit ») Human Homo ‘sapiens’ Cabanac M. (2001)

bird 3 8 x x x x x x x 3 6 3 4 3 2 c r est TEMPERATURE (°C) 3 0 0 3 6 9 1 2 1 5 1 8 4 2 c l o aca 4 1 . 8 4 1 . 6 4 1 . 4 x x x x x x x 4 1 . 2 0 3 6 9 1 2 1 5 1 8 T IME ( m i n ) Emotional fever foot Cabanac M., Aizawa S. (2000) Physiol. Behav. 69: 541-545

Emotional tachycardia Hen Cabanac M., Aizawa S. (2000) Physiol. Behav. 69: 541-545

Birds: conclusion - signs of motion (fever, tachycardia); - verbal signs of sensory pleasure (taste, caress…). CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKELY TO EXIST IN BIRDS

lizard 38 36 34 32 30 28 CORE TEMPERATURE (°C) 26 24 22 • periodical manipulation control without manipulation l i 20 o 18 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 TIME ( min) Emotional fever Cabanac M., Gosselin F. (1993) Anim. Behav. 46: 200-202

Emotional tachycardia Cabanac A., Cabanac M. (2000) Behav. Proc. 52: 89-95

PLEASURE AND DECISION MAKING (lizards) Balaskó M., Cabanac M. (1998) Brain Behav. Evol. 52: 257-262

Reptiles: conclusion - signs of emotion (fever, tachycardia); - signs of sensory pleasure (taste, temperature, conflict of motivations…); - maximizing pleasure motivates behavior. CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKELY TO EXIST IN REPTILES

No emotional tachycardia in amphibians Cabanac A., Cabanac M. (2000) Behav. Proc. 52: 89-95

New before New after No aquired taste aversion in amphibians lizards frogs & salamanders 100 0 100 FOOD INTAKE (%) FOOD INTAKE (%) * 0 LiCl saline LiCl saline TREATMENT TREATMENT Paradis S., Cabanac M. (2004) Behav. Proc. 67: 11-18

ºC) CORE TEMPERATURE ( TIME (min) No emotional fever in amphibians 30 Rana sp. 25 20 15 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Cabanac A. J., Cabanac M. (2004) J. thermal Biol. 29: 669-673

AMPHIBIANS: conclusion - no signs emotion (fever, tachycardia); - no signs of sensory pleasure (taste). CONSCIOUSNESS IS UNLIKELY TO EXIST IN AMPHIBIANS

PROLEGOMENON - what is consciousness? - what is an emergence? - natural selection HOW MAY WE ACCEPT CONSCIOUSNESS IN AN ANIMAL - signs of emotion - signs of sensory pleasure MAMMALS BIRDS REPTILES AMPHIBIANS FISH POSSIBLE CONFIRMATIONS - sleep - play CONCLUSION

37°C 34°C air air No emotional fever in fish (C. auratus) Cabanac M., Laberge F. (1998) Physiol. Behav. 63: 377-379

Sleep R. Rial (2005)

Sleep For Rial et col. The evolution of awakening is the main force towards a development of the brain. Cortical awakening is specific to mammals, as well as sleep with its two states (slow wave sleep, spindles and ‘rapid’ sleep ). Reptiles possess a wake slow EEG (with spindles) in the whole brain. Amphibians, without cortex, don’t show any sign of sleep. M. C. Nicolau, M. Akaârir, A. Gamundí, J. González, R. V. Rial (2000) Why we sleep: the evolutionary pathway to the mammalian sleep Progr. Neurobiol. 2000, 62: 379-406.

Play G. Burghardt (2000)

Play For Burghardt, is an activity - incompletely fonctional (useless on first sight), - volontarily initiated (which implies intention and, for him, pleasure), - non serious, - repetitive, - when the subject is completely relaxed. G. M. Burghardt (2005) The Genesis of Animal Play. Cambridge (Mass.) MIT Press

IS CONSCIOUSNESS PRESENT IN FISH?