A post by Draybar in previous thread (forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1794878,1797169) me to do a little research into which structures of the brain are responsible for the pleasure sense and whether or not reptiles possess those structures.



Granted my search was cursory, but never the less in my interpretation, indicates that yes, reptiles do possess that generalized structure, the limbic system and its constituents, which is strongly associated with the pleasure reponse in mammals.



Here are three links for convenience:



Pleasure Centers

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleasure_center



Limbic System

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system



Medial Forebrain Bundle (yes, reptiles have this)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medial_forebrain_bundle



Reptilian Neurological Complex

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilian_complex



Mammalian / Reptilian forebrain homology

www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6SYT-45DDHNN-1N&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2002&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1257887186&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=a07c49db06366e706db51b4231f4a97a



Aside from all the complex neurological anatomy, which even to date is far from perfectly understood by science, it's a no brainer (pun intended)...



On cold days I'm drawn by expectation of pleasure toward the warmth of a fire but I know not to touch as experience has taught me that would be painful. On cool days reptiles are drawn to warm rocks but on hot days, they remain in the cooler shade. Why? go figure



Pleasure and pain are the motivators which reward creatures for advantageous behaviors and punish for those harmful.



To confound the issue, in humans and our articificially produced environments (including food types, availability, and all kinds of other stuff) the reward/punishment system has been thrown a twist as we have available to us in excess things which in our evolutionary past were necessary for our survival but difficult to come by, like french fries for instance ...our innate craving for these has not yet been tempered by our ability to produce them in mass.



But, it does seem quite obvious that the underlying impulses are of the same origin for us as in reptiles and other creatures, albeit the ultimate interpretation and expression of those impulses is progressively more complex commensurate with more complex neurology.



So, although there is no way for me to know absolutely, I'm gonna give reptiles the benefit of the doubt and suggest that they do in fact experience pleasure and pain. Do they cogitate about it, experience emotional turmoil and seek therapy? Probably not.



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