Abstract

ts fe o th emotion is, and how it differs from other aspects of mind and behavior, in spite of discussion and debate that dates back to emotion, since animal research is essential for identifying cally use these ‘‘feeling words’ ’ as guideposts to explore the terrain of emotion. One set of such phenomena includes responses that occur whenProgress in understanding emotional phenomena in the brains of laboratory animals has in fact helped elucidate emotional functions in the human brain, including pathological aspects of responses that occur when in danger or when in the presence of a potential mate or in the presence of food when hungry or drink when thirsty. These are fundamental phenomena that haveemotion. But what does this really mean? If we don’t have an agreed-upon definition of emotion that allows us to say what always interested animal behavior scientists, and would be of interest even if the terms ‘‘emotion’ ’ and ‘‘feelings’ ’ neverspecific circuits and mechanisms in the brain that underlie emotional phenomena. an organism detects and responds to significant events in the course of surviving and/or maintaining well-being—for example,the earliest days in modern biology and psychology (e.g., Dar-