There is a consensus on the idea that emotions are not exclusive to humans and that animals, like their owners, can be sad, happy, or angry. But could it be that species so evolutionarily so distant from mammals, like fish, allow themselves to be infected with the emotions displayed by the group, in the same way that humans do? A team of researchers from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência analyzed the behavior of zebrafish and concluded that this ability to perceive and adopt the feelings of others – one of the most basic forms of empathy, essential to life in society – dates back to the oldest group. of vertebrates.

The discovery, made by researchers from the Institut Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), was published this week in the journal “Science” and described as having the potential to “revolutionize the study of the brain” and work out “mechanisms of emotional contagion,” with “implications ranging from public health to Politics and Marketing.

This is an article from Expresso Weekly. click here To continue reading.