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1、U n i t 9An i m a l E m o t i o n sL a u r a T a n g l e yS h e e r j o y.R o m a n t i c l o v e.T h e p a i n o f m o u r n i n g.S c i e n t i s t s s a y p e t s a n d w i l d c r e a t u r e s h a v e f e e l i n g s,t o o.1.Swimming off the coast of Argentina,a female right whalesingles outjus

2、t one of the suitors that are hotly pursuing her.After mating,thetwo cetaceans linger side by side,stroking one another with theirflippers and finally rolling together in what looks like an embrace.Thewhales then depart,flippers touching,and swim slowly side by side,diving and surfacing in perfect u

3、nison until they disappear from sight.2.In Tanzania,primatologists studying chimpanzee behavior recorded thedeath of Flo,a troop,s 50-year-old matriarch.Throughout the followingday,Flo s son,Flint,sits beside his mother,s lifeless body,occasionally taking her hand and whimpering.Over the next few we

4、eks,Flint grows increasingly listless,withdrawing from the troop-despitehis siblings efforts to bring him back-and refusing food.Three weeksafter Flo s death,the formerly healthy young chimp is dead,too.3.A grief-stricken chimpanzee?Leviathans in love?Most people,raisedon Disney versions of sentient

5、 and passionate beasts,would say that thesetales,both true,simply confirm their suspicions that animals can feelintense,humanlike emotions.For their part,the nation,s 61 million petowners need no convincing at all that pet dogs and cats can feel angry,morose,elated 一 even jealous or embarrassed.Rece

6、nt studies,in fieldsas distant as ethology and neurobiology,are supporting this popularbelief.Other evidence is merely anecdotal,especially for pets-dogsthat become depressed,or even die,after losing a beloved companion,forinstance.But the anecdote or case study in scientific parlance hasnow achieve

7、d some respectability among researchers who study animalbehavior.As University of Colorado biologist Marc Bekoff says,“Theplural of anecdote is data.”4.Still,the idea of animals feeling emotions remains controversial amongmany scientists.Researchers?skepticism is fueled in part by theirprofessional

8、aversion to anthropomorphism,the very nonscientifictendency to attribute human qualities to non-humans.Many scientists alsosay that it is impossible to prove animals have emotions using standardscientific methods 一 repeatable observations that can be manipulated incontrolled experiments 一 leading th

9、em to conclude that such feelings mustnot exist.Today,however,amid mounting evidence to the contrary,“thetide is turning radically and rapidly,“says Bekoff,who is at theforefront of this movement.5.E v e n t h e m o s t s t r i d e n t s k e p t i c s o f a n i m a l p a s s i o n a g r e e t h a t

10、m a n yc r e a t u r e s e x p e r i e n c e f e a r 一 w h i c h s o m e s c i e n t i s t s d e f i n e a s a “p r i m a r y”e m o t i o n t h a t c o n t r a s t s w i t h “s e c o n d a r y”e m o t i o n s s u c h a s l o v e a n d g r i e f.U n l i k e t h e s e m o r e c o m p l e x f e e l i n

11、 g s,f e a r i s i n s t i n c t i v e,t h e y s a y,a n dr e q u i r e s n o c o n s c i o u s t h o u g h t.E s s e n t i a l t o e s c a p e p r e d a t o r s a n d o t h e rd a n g e r s,f e a r一 a n d i t s p r e d i c t a b l e f l i g h t,f i g h t,o r f r e e z e r e s p o n s e s一 s e e m s

12、 t o b e h a r d-w i r e d i n t o m a n y s p e c i e s.Y o u n g g e e s e t h a t h a v e n e v e rb e f o r e s e e n a p r e d a t o r,f o r e x a m p l e,w i l l r u n f o r c o v e r i f a h a w k-s h a p e ds i l h o u e t t e p a s s e s o v e r h e a d.T h e s h a p e o f a n o n p r e d a

13、 t o r y b i r d,o n t h e o t h e rh a n d,e l i c i t s n o s u c h r e s p o n s e.6.Bu t b e y o n d s u c h i n s t i n c t u a l e m o t i o n s a n d t h e i r p r e d i c t a b l e b e h a v i o r a lr e s p o n s e s,t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f m o r e c o m p l e x a n i m a l f e e l

14、i n g s 一 t h o s e t h a te n t a i l m e n t a l p r o c e s s i n g i s d i f f i c u l t t o d e m o n s t r a t e.I c a n,t e v e np r o v e t h a t a n o t h e r h u m a n b e i n g i s f e e l i n g h a p p y o r s a d,“s a y s Be k o f f,“b u t I c a n d e d u c e h o w t h e y r e f e e l i

15、 n g t h r o u g h b o d y l a n g u a g e a n d f a c i a le x p r e s s i o n.As a s c i e n t i s t w h o h a s c o n d u c t e d f i e l d s t u d i e s o f c o y o t e s,f o x e s,a n d o t h e r c a n i n e s f o r t h e p a s t t h r e e d e c a d e s,Be k o f f a l s o b e l i e v e sh e c a

16、 n a c c u r a t e l y t e l l w h a t t h e s e a n i m a l s a r e f e e l i n g b y o b s e r v i n g t h e i rb e h a v i o r.He a d d s t h a t a n i m a l e m o t i o n s m a y a c t u a l l y b e m o r e k n o w a b l e t h a nt h o s e o f h u m a n s,b e c a u s e t h e y d o n,t f i l t e

17、r“t h e i r f e e l i n g s t h e w a yw e d o.7.Y e t b e c a u s e f e e l i n g s a r e i n t a n g i b l e,a n d s o t o u g h t o s t u d ys c i e n t i f i c a l l y,“m o s t r e s e a r c h e r s d o n,t e v e n w a n t t o t a l k a b o u t a n i m a le m o t i o n s,“s a y s J a a k P a n k

18、 s e p p,a n e u r o s c i e n t i s t a t Bo w l i n g Gr e e n S t a t eU n i v e r s i t y i n O h i o a n d a u t h o r o f Af f e c t i v e N e u r o s c i e n c e.W i t h i n h i s f i e l d,P a n k s e p p i s a r a r e e x c e p t i o n,w h o b e l i e v e s t h a t s i m i l a r i t i e s b

19、 e t w e e n t h eb r a i n s o f h u m a n s a n d o t h e r a n i m a l s s u g g e s t t h a t a t l e a s t s o m e c r e a t u r e sh a v e t r u e f e e l i n g s.I m a g i n e w h e r e w e d b e i n p h y s i c s i f w e h a d n ti n f e r r e d w h a t s i n s i d e t h e a t o m,v s a y s

20、P a n k s e p p.M o s t o f w h a t g o e so n i n n a t u r e i s i n v i s i b l e,y e t w e d o n t d e n y t h a t i t e x i s t s.”8.T h e n e w c a s e f o r a n i m a l e m o t i o n s c o m e s i n p a r t f r o m t h e g r o w i n ga c c e p t a b i l i t y o f f i e l d o b s e r v a t i o

21、 n s,p a r t i c u l a r l y w h e n t h e y a r e t a k e n i na g g r e g a t e.T h e l a t e s t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h i s b o d y o f k n o w l e d g e i s a n e w b o o k,T h e S m i l e o f a Do l p h i n,w h i c h p r e s e n t s p e r s o n a l r e p o r t s f r o m m o r e t h a n

22、50 r e s e a r c h e r s w h o h a v e s p e n t t h e i r c a r e e r s s t u d y i n g a n i m a l s 一 f r o m c a t s,d o g s,b e a r s,a n d c h i m p s t o b i r d s,i g u a n a s,a n d f i s h.E d i t e d b y Be k o f f,w h o s a y s i t w i l l f i n a l l y l e g i t i m i z e”r e s e a r c

23、h o n a n i m a l e m o t i o n s,t h ev o l u m e h a s a l r e a d ygarnered scientific attention,including a Smithsonian Institutionsymposium on the subject.9.One of the most obvious animal emotions is pleasure.Anyone who hasever held a purring cat or been greeted by a bounding,barking,tail-waggi

24、ng dog knows that animals often appear to be happy.Beastly joyseems particularly apparent when the animals are playing with one anotheror sometimes,in the case of pets,with people.10.Virtually all young mammals,as well as some birds,play,as do adultsof many species such as our own.Young dolphins,for

25、 instance,routinelychase each other through the water like frolicsome puppies and have beenobserved riding the wakes of boats like surfers.Primatologist J aneGoodall,who has studied chimpanzees in Tanzania for four decades,saysthat chimps uchase,somersault,and pirouette around one another withthe ab

26、andon of children.In Colorado,Bekoff once watched an elk raceback and forth across a patch of snoL even though there was plenty ofbare grass nearby 一 leaping and twisting its body in midair on each pass.Though recent research suggests that play may help youngsters developskills needed in adulthood,B

27、ekoff says thereJ s no question that it salso fun.uAnimals atplay are symbols of the unfettered joy of life,“he says11.Grief also seems to be common in the wild,particularly following thedeath of a mate,parent,offspring,or even close companion.Female sealions witnessing their pups being eaten by kil

28、ler whales are known toactually wail.When a goose,which mates for life,loses its partner,thebird,s head and body droop dejectedly.Goodall,who saw the young chimpFlint starve after his mother died,maintains that the animal“died ofgrief.”12.Elephants may be nature s bestknown mourners.Scientists study

29、ingthese behemoths have reported countless cases of elephants trying torevive dead or dying family members,as well as standing quietly besidean animal s remains for many days,periodically reaching out and touchingthe body with their trunks.Kenyan biologist J oyce Poole,who has studiedAfrican elephan

30、ts since 1976,says these animals behavior toward theirdead“leaves me with little doubt that they experience deep emotions andhave some understanding about death.”13.But there s hard”scientific evidence for animal feelings as well.Scientists who study the biology of emotions,a field still in its infa

31、ncy,are discovering many similarities between the brains of humans and otheranimals.In animals studied so far,including humans,emotions seem toarise from ancient partsof the brain that are located below thecortex,regions that have been conserved across many species throughout evolution.14.T h e m o

32、s t i m p o r t a n t e m o t i o n a l s i t e i d e n t i f i e d s o f a r i s t h e a m y g d a l a,a n a l m o n d-s h a p e s t r u c t u r e i n t h e c e n t e r o f t h e b r a i n.W o r k i n g w i t h r a t s,n e u r o s c i e n t i s t s h a v e d i s c o v e r e d t h a t s t i m u l a

33、t i n g a c e r t a i n p a r t o f t h ea m y g d a l a i n d u c e s a s t a t e o f i n t e n s e f e a r.R a t s w i t h d a m a g e d a m y g d a l a s,o n t h e o t h e r h a n d,d o n o t s h o w n o r m a l b e h a v i o r a l r e s p o n s e s t o d a n g e r (s u c ha s f r e e z i n g o r

34、 r u n n i n g)o r t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l c h a n g e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h f e a r一 h i g h e r h e a r t r a t e a n d b l o o d p r e s s u r e,f o r e x a m p l e.15.I n h u m a n s,b r a i n-i m a g i n g s t u d i e s s h o w t h a t w h e n p e o p l e e x p e r i e n c e f e

35、 a r,t h e i r a m y g d a l a s,t o o,a r e a c t i v a t e d.An d j u s t l i k e t h e r a t s,p e o p l e w h o s ea m y g d a l a s a r e d a m a g e d b y a c c i d e n t o r d i s e a s e s e e m u n a b l e t o b e a f r a i d w h e nt h e s i t u a t i o n w a r r a n t s i t.I n h u m a n

36、s a n d r a t s,a t l e a s t,a m y g d a l a s a r eub a s i c a l l y w i r e d t h e s a m e w a y,“s a y s N e w Y o r k U n i v e r s i t y n e u r o s c i e n t i s tJ o s e p h L e Do u x,w h o s e l a b c o n d u c t e d m u c h o f t h e r a t r e s e a r c h.He a d d s t h a tb e y o n d f

37、 e a r,“t h e e v i d e n c e i s l e s s c l e a r,b u t t h e a m y g d a l a i s i m p l i c a t e di n o t h e r e m o t i o n s a s w e l l.”16.T h e c a s e f o r a n i m a l e m o t i o n s i s a l s o b o l s t e r e d b y r e c e n t s t u d i e s o fb r a i n c h e m i s t r y.S t e v e n

38、S i v i y,a b e h a v i o r a l n e u r o s c i e n t i s t a t Ge t t y s b u r gCo l l e g e i n P e n n s y l v a n i a,h a s f o u n d t h a t w h e n r a t s p l a y,t h e i r b r a i n sr e l e a s e c o p i o u s a m o u n t s o f d o p a m i n e,a n e u r o c h e m i c a l t h a t i s a s s

39、o c i a t e dw i t h p l e a s u r e a n d e x c i t e m e n t i n h u m a n s.I n o n e e x p e r i m e n t,S i v i y p l a c e dp a i r s o f r a t s i n a d i s t i n c t i v e p l e x i g l a s s c h a m b e r a n d a l l o w e d t h e m t o p l a y.Af t e r a w e e k,h e c o u l d p u t o n e a

40、 n i m a l a l o n e i n t h e c h a m b e r a n d,a n t i c i p a t i n g i t s u p c o m i n g p l a y s e s s i o n,i t w o u l d b e c o m e “v e r y a c t i v e,v o c a l i z i n g,a n d p a c i n g b a c k a n d f o r t h w i t h e x c i t e m e n t.”Bu t w h e n S i v i yg a v e t h e s a m e

41、 a n i m a l a d r u g t h a t b l o c k s d o p a m i n e,a l l s u c h a c t i v i t y c a m et o a h a l t.N e u r o s c i e n t i s t P a n k s e p p h a s f o u n d e v i d e n c e t h a t r a t s a t p l a ya l s o p r o d u c e o p i a t e s -c h e m i c a l s t h a t,l i k e d o p a m i n e,

42、a r e t h o u g h t t o b ei n v o l v e d w i t h p l e a s u r e i n p e o p l e.17.An o t h e r c h e m i c a l,t h e h o r m o n e o x y t o c i n,i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h b o t h s e x u a la c t i v i t y a n d m a t e r n a l b o n d i n g i n p e o p l e.I t i s r e l e a s e d,f o r

43、e x a m p l e,w h e nm o t h e r s a r e n u r s i n g t h e i r i n f a n t s.N o w i t l o o k s a s t h o u g h t h e s a m e h o r m o n ea f f e c t s a t t a c h m e n t a m o n g a n i m a l s,a t l e a s t i n t h e c a s e o f a m o u s e l i k er o d e n t c a l l e d t h e p r a i r i e v

44、 o l e.T o i n v e s t i g a t e o x y t o c i n s r o l e i n s o c i a lb o n d i n g,U n i v e r s i t y o f M a r y l a n d n e u r o s c i e n t i s t C.S u e Ca r t e r t a r g e t e d t h ev o l e b e c a u s e i t i s o n e o f t h e f e w m a m m a l s p e c i e s k n o w n t o b e m o n o

45、g a m o u s.S h e f o u n d t h a t f e m a l e s,w h o n o r m a l l y s p e n d a b o u t a d a y s e l e c t i n g a m a t ef r o m a p o o l o f e a g e r m a l e s,w i l l c h o o s e o n e w i t h i n a n h o u r-o f t e n t h ef i r s t m a l e t h e y s e e -i f t h e y h a v e f i r s t r e

46、 c e i v e d a n i n j e c t i o n o f o x y t o c i n.V o l e s g i v e n a d r u g t h a t b l o c k s o x y t o c i n,h o w e v e r,w i l l n o t s e l e c t a m a t e,n o m a t t e r h o w m u c h t i m e t h e y h a v e.Ca r t e r c o n c l u d e s t h a t p a i r b o n d i n g i nv o l e s r e

47、 l i e s a t l e a s t i n p a r t o n o x y t o c i n,w h i c h p r o d u c e s b e h a v i o r t h a tl o o k s m u c h l i k e p e o p l e w h o a r e f a l l i n g i n l o v e.v18.But is it love,really?Bernd Welsig,the Texas A&M Universitybiologist who observed amorous right whales off the coast

48、 of Argentina,believes that,as a scientist,“I should probably call this event a mereexample of an alternative mating strategy.But Welsig stillentertains the possibility that the cetaceans behaved the way they didbecause“they were the right right whales for each other.”19.Skeptics remain unconvinced.

49、A whale may behave as if it s in love,but you can t prove what it s feeling,if anything,saysneuroscientist LeDoux,author ofThe Emotional Brain He maintains thatthe question of feelings boils down to whether or not animals are conscious.And though animals may have snapshots of self-awareness,“he says

50、,“the movie we call consciousness is not there.Richard Davidson,aneuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,agrees that higherprimates,including apes and chimps,are the only animals that havedemonstrated self-consciousness so far.Still,he believes that there areother creatures that“may at

51、 least have antecedents of feelings.”20.Or probably more,say Bekoff and his colleagues.Their most convincingargument,perhaps,comes from the theory of evolution,widely acceptedby biologists of all stripes.Citing similarities in the brain anatomyand chemistry of humans and other animals,neuroscientist

52、 Siviy asks:Ifyou believe in evolution by natural selection,how can you believe thatfeelings suddenly appeared,out of the blue,with human beings?”Goodallsays scientists who useanimals to study the human brain,then deny thatanimals have feelings,are“illogical.”21.In the end,what difference does it re

53、ally make?According to manyscientists,resolving the debate over animal emotions could turn out tobe much more than an intellectual exercise.If animals do indeedexperience a wide range of feelings,it has profound implications for howhumans and animals will interact in the future.Bekoff,for one,hopest

54、hat greater understanding of what animals are feeling will spur morestringent rules on how animals should be treated,everywhere from zoosand circuses to farms and backyards.22.But if there is continuitybetween the emotional lives of humans andother animals,where should scientists draw the line力liche

55、l Cabanac,aphysiologist at Laval University in Q uebec,believes that consciousnessarose when animals began to experience physical pleasure and displeasure.In experiments with iguanas,he discovered that the animals showphysiological changes that are associated with pleasure in mammals arise in body t

56、emperature and heart rate 一 whereas frogs and fish do not.He proposes that emotions evolved somewhere between the first amphibiansand reptiles.Yet even enthusiasts don ta s c r i b e e m o t i o n s t o t h e v e r y b o t t o m e n d o f t h e f o o d c h a i n.S a y s Be k o f f:“W e r e n o t g o

57、 i n g t o t a l k a b o u t j e a l o u s s p o n g e s a n d e m b a r r a s s e dm o s q u i t o e s.”第九单元动 物 的 情 感劳拉坦利非常的开心。浪漫的爱情。悲恸的哀悼。科学家说宠物和野生动物也有情感。1.一只在阿根廷海岸附近的水域中游动的露脊鲸，在众多热烈追求她的求偶者中只选出一名幸运儿。“完婚”之后，两头露脊鲸并排在水中徜徉，它们用鳍肢相互抚摩，最后又一起在水中滚动，看上去就像在互相拥抱。然后，两头露脊鲸开始游向远方，鳍肢相互触摸，慢慢并排游动，一会潜入水中，一会又浮出水面，它们动

58、作完美和谐，直至最终在视线中消失。2.在坦桑尼亚，致力于研究黑猩猩行为的灵长类动物学家记录了一个黑猩猩群落中享年5 0岁的“女族长”弗洛死后发生的一些事情。弗洛的儿子弗林特第二天一整天都坐在母亲的尸体旁边，有时还会抓住她的手发出几声呜咽。在此后的几个星期里，弗林特的情绪越来越低落，他离群索居并且不再进食，尽管他的兄弟姐妹设法想让他回到群体中来。终于，在弗洛死后的第3个星期，原本年轻健康的黑猩猩弗林特也死了。3.悲伤过度的黑猩猩？坠入情网的海洋巨兽？很多人，由于深受迪斯尼卡通片中感性多情的动物形象的影响，会说这两个真实的故事更加证实了他们认为动物有人类般强烈情感的看法。从他们的角度来看，全国六千

59、一百万拥有宠物的人完全不需要提供什么证据来证实宠物狗和宠物猫会生气、郁闷、得意洋洋一一甚至会嫉妒或困窘。最近在动物行为学和神经生物学之类的边缘学科的研究证实了这种普遍看法。其他的证据只是些轶事趣闻，特别是一些有关宠物的事，例如狗会在失去心爱的同伴后，变得沮丧，甚至死去。但是轶事趣闻一一或用科学的术语称之为案例研究一一现在已经获得了研究动物行为的研究人员的重视。正如科罗拉多大学的生物学家马克 贝科夫所说：“大量的轶事趣闻就是数据。”4.但是，许多科学家仍然对动物也有情感的观点持有异议。研究人员之所以会表示怀疑，部分原因是他们出于职业习惯讨厌拟人论，因为他们认为这是一种将人类的特性强加在非人类生物

60、身上的毫无科学根据的主观倾向。许多科学家还认为用标准的科学方法（在受控实验环境下可进行重复观察）是无法证明动物是有情感的一一这使他们得出结论，认为这些所谓的动物情感一定不存在。但是动物情感论的积极倡导者贝科夫指出，如今面对越来越多的相反证据，“这场运动的潮流正在根本性地迅速转向”。5.甚至连那些对动物情感论持绝对怀疑态度的人也承认，许多动物有恐惧感一一些科学家认为，恐惧是与爱和悲伤等“中级”情感相对的“初级”情感。他们认为，与较为复杂的“中级”情感相比，恐惧是一种本能，它不需要任何有意识的思维。恐惧及其可以预见的逃跑、搏斗或者呆住不动的反应，是逃避食肉动物和其他危险所必需的，它看起来好像是许多

61、动物与生俱来的本领。例如，以前从未见过食肉动物的小鹅如果看到形状像老鹰一样的黑影从头顶掠过就会马上跑去寻找藏身处。而另一方面，非食肉鸟的形状就不会引发这样的反应。6.但是，除了这些具有本能性质的情感及其可以预见的行为反应之外，科学家很难证明动物可能拥有更为复杂的情感，即那些必需有心理活动过程的情感。贝科夫说：“我甚至不能证实另一个人是快乐还是悲伤，但我可以通过肢体语言和脸部表情推论出他（们）的情感。”作为对丛林狼、狐狸及其他犬科动物进行长达3 0年实地研究的科学家，贝科夫还认为自己可以通过观察这些动物的行为准确地说出他们的感受。他又指出，了解动物的感情事实上可能比了解人类的感情更容易，因为它们

62、不会像人类那样对情感进行“过滤”。7.但 是 情感神经学一书的作者、俄亥俄州立堡林格 林大学神经学学家雅克潘克塞普指出，因为感情是一种无形的东西，而且很难用科学手段进行研究，“所以大多数研究人员甚至不愿意谈论动物情感问题”。而潘克塞普在他的研究领域里是一个非常少见的例外，他认为，人类大脑和其他动物大脑之间的相似之处表明，至少某些动物拥有真正的感情。潘克塞普说：“想象一下，如果我们没有推测出原子中的物质，那我们的物理学会是什么样的。在自然中大部分事物的进展是看不见的，然而我们并不否认它的存在。”8.对动物情感的接受之所以会出现新的局面，部分原因是有越来越多的人愿意接受研究人员取得的实地观察结果，

63、特别是当从总体角度看待这些结果时。一本名为 海豚的微笑的新书为增加动物情感方面的知识做出了新的贡献，该书收录了 5 0多名研究人员撰写的个人报告。这些研究人员将自己的整个职业生涯都倾注在对猫、狗、熊、黑猩猩、鸟、鬣蜥和鱼等动物的研究。该书的编辑贝科夫认为，这本书最终会使动物情感的研究变得“合法”。而这本新书也的确引起了科学界的关注一一其中，史密森氏学会就举行了一次以动物情感为主题的研讨会。9.动物最显而易见的情感之一就是快乐。养过会发出咕噜声的小猫，或者受到过边跳边叫、摇着尾巴的小狗欢迎的人，就知道动物看起来常常十分快乐。动物相互嬉戏的时候，或有时跟人一起玩耍时（就宠物而言），它们的快乐好像会

64、变得特别明显。1 0 .事实上，所有幼小的哺乳动物和某些鸟类都会嬉戏玩耍，正如很多种类的成年动物一样，包括人类也是如此。例如，小海豚就像爱闹着玩的小狗，常常在水中互相追逐。人们常常看到它们像冲浪运动员般追逐在船后的浪花上。灵长类动物学家简 古多尔曾经在坦桑尼亚对黑猩猩进行了 4 0年的研究，他说黑猩猩会“孩子般尽情地追逐、翻跟头、踮着脚尖相互旋转”。有一次，贝科夫在科罗拉多观察到一只麋鹿来来回回地跑着穿越一小块雪地，尽管边上就有无雪的草地。它每次跨跃都要跳起来并在半空扭动着躯体。贝科夫说虽然近来的研究表明嬉戏玩耍会帮助小动物培养成年所需要的技巧，而毫无疑问的是，它也会带来快乐。他还说：“玩耍的

65、动物是无拘无束生活快乐的象征。”1 1.在野生动物中，悲伤似乎也很常见，尤其是在失去了配偶、双亲、幼崽，甚至是亲密同伴的时候。比如，当母海狮目击了自己的小海狮被逆戟鲸吃掉时，会发出哀号。一生只有一个配偶的天鹅失去配偶时，会沮丧地垂着头和身体。古多尔亲眼看到小黑猩猩弗林特在母亲死后饿死，他坚持说小黑猩猩是“死于悲伤”。1 2 .大象可能是大自然最著名的哀悼者了。研究这些庞然大物的科学家的报告中有大量的事实陈述了大象试图使死去的或将要死去的家庭成员复活，还会很多天静静地站在尸体旁，不时地伸出长鼻触动一下尸体。肯尼亚生物学家乔伊斯 普尔 从1 9 7 6年以来就研究非洲大象，他说，这些动物对待死去的

66、动物的行为“让我几乎毫不怀疑地认为，它们体验着深切的感情并对死亡有所理解。”1 3.有 一 些“确凿的”科学证据也可以证明动物有感情。致力于情感生物学（一个新生的科学领域）研究的科学家发现，人脑与其它动物的大脑之间存在着许多相似之处。科学家在到目前为止对动物（包括人类）的研究发现，情感看起来好像是在大脑一些较为“古老”的区域中产生的，这些区域位于大脑皮层以下，它们在许多物种的进化过程中都得以保存下来。1 4.目前已经被科学家识别出来的最重要的情感区域，是大脑中的扁桃体，这是一个位于大脑中央的杏仁状结构。神经科学家通过在老鼠身上进行的实验，发现刺激扁桃体某个特定的部分会导致实验鼠处于一种极度恐惧的状态。在另一方面，扁桃体遭到破坏的实验鼠在遇到危险时，既不会表现出正常的行为反应（比如呆住或者逃跑），也不会出现与恐惧联系在一起的生理变化一一如心跳加快和血压升高。1 5.利用成像技术对人脑进行的研究表明，当人类感到恐惧时，大脑中的扁桃核也会被激活。与实验鼠一样，由于意外事故或疾病而导致扁桃核受损的人似乎在面对危险时也无法感到恐惧。在实验室进行了大量鼠类研究的纽约大学神经学学家约瑟夫勒杜指出，至