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By CHRISTINA LARSONMarch 23, 2023
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In this photo provided by researcher Rui F. Oliveira, a zebrafish, bottom, is monitored to see its reaction to a video of another at a laboratory in Oeiras, Portugal in March 2023. A study published on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in the journal Science shows that a relaxed fish can detect fear in other fish, and then become afraid itself – and that this ability is regulated by oxytocin, the same brain chemical that underlies the capacity for empathy in humans. (Rui F. Oliveira via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Our capacity to care about others may have very, very ancient origins, a new study suggests.
It might have been deep-rooted in prehistoric animals that lived millions of years ago, before fish and mammals like us diverged on the tree of life, according to researchers who published their study Thursday in the journal Science.
“Some of the mechanisms that underlie our ability to experience fear, or fall in and out of love, are clearly very ancient pathways,” said Hans Hofmann, an evolutionary neuroscientist at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the research.
Scientists are usually reluctant to attribute humanlike feelings to animals. But it’s generally accepted that many animals have moods, including fish.
The new study shows that fish can detect fear in other fish, and then become afraid too – and that this ability is regulated by oxytocin, the same brain chemical that underlies the capacity for empathy in humans.
