Experience of Pain and Fear in Fish from the Neurocognitive Perspective

Marcin Urbaniak

doi:10.31261/ZOOPHILOLOGICA.2025.S.07

Published: 2025-12-17

2025

Experience of Pain and Fear in Fish from the Neurocognitive Perspective

Marcin Urbaniak

Section: ARTICLES

https://doi.org/10.31261/ZOOPHILOLOGICA.2025.S.07

Abstract

The article is a sketch 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 feeling, 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 behavioral 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 feel pain and the correlated ability to feel negative affects, 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-behavioral flexibility and a certain degree of cognitive control in fish.

A positive answer to the questions about feeling pain, fear or anxiety is a starting point for further analyzes of the cognitive system and neurobehavior of fish. In the first part of the text, I consider the physiological ability of fish to feel pain. In the second part of the text, I analyze the phenomenon of constructing negative affective states based on the neurophysiological and cognitive components of the experience of fear. I propose a compromise position between defenders of basic emotions in animals and supporters of the theory of constructed emotions. I present how the affective experience differs from typically cognitive percepts and what are the basic functions of the experience of fear in vertebrates and invertebrates. The whole text is summarized with final remarks that encourage discussion about the social, ethical and legal consequences that result from the fish sentience and richness of the mental landscape of fish.

Keywords:

fish pain , fish fear , fish anxiety , fish emotions , fish cognition , fish awareness , fish perception

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Urbaniak, M. (2025). Experience of Pain and Fear in Fish from the Neurocognitive Perspective. Zoophilologica. Polish Journal of Animal Studies, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.31261/ZOOPHILOLOGICA.2025.S.07

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2025
Published: 2025-04-03

ISSN: 2719-2687

eISSN: 2451-3849

10.31261/ZOOPHILOLOGICA

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Experience of Pain and Fear in Fish from the Neurocognitive Perspective

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Marcin Urbaniak

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