Re: NANFA-- Anglers carp at 'fish pain' theory - Apr.30, 2003

Bruce Stallsmith (fundulus_at_hotmail.com)
Sat, 03 May 2003 00:08:43 -0400

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I dunno, from an evolutionary perspective the basic vertebrate nervous
system is largely conserved--it hasn't changed a whole lot in how sensory
information is received and processed. Sure, we have a large cerebral cortex
for processing "higher" thoughts, but structures like the cerebellum and
brain stem (medulla oblongata, pons,...) are clearly visible in a shark
brain or a mammalian brain and apparently handle many of the same functions.
I would be surprised if something like pain isn't also conserved from a very
deep point in the vertebrate phylogenetic tree.

That doesn't mean being smart about pain avoidance, like in Moon's example
below. Learned behaviors are obviously very different in largemouth bass and
ground dwelling primates like ourselves (I hope!!).

--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL, US of A

>But they are such an easy target! And so much fun! I'll believe fish feel
>pain the same way I do when large mouth bass quit grabbing the same lure
>and
>getting hooked on it throwing the hook and grabbing the lure again! I've
>had
>a fish hook in my hand before, it made a believer out of me. I don't think
>there would too much chance of me grabbing a tasty morsel twice if I was
>hooked by a treble hook in the mouth the first time!
>
>Moon
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