Do you ever find yourself wondering what goes on in the mind of an animal? Every single day I look at my two dogs, and wonder. I also narrate for them.

We may never truly be able to understand what emotions and thoughts animate them, but we can gain deeper insight into their emotional lives.

In addition to being a lifelong animal lover, I also love brains. I refer to myself as a “brain geek.” I love learning about new frontiers in neuroscience. & I love incorporating neuroscience into my work with counseling and coaching clients. I’ve even built a business around Holistic Brain-Based Healing.

But unless you’re a neuroscientist, a biologist, or work with animals directly — you may not know just how fascinating our animal counterparts are.

Comparative morphology is studying two different (in this case) animals based on their relative size. So, for example, take a whale and a human being. A whale is quite large compared to a human, and a whale’s brain is quite large compared to a human brain. But — in proportion to the whale, how does the whale brain stack up proportionally to the human brain?

The Limbic System and Animal Emotion

The limbic system is the part of the brain responsible for emotion and behavior, and it is common among many types of creatures. To varying degrees, mammals have much larger limbic systems than humans do. This has led some to speculate that animals may feel more emotions than humans do.

For the most part, we can’t ask them directly — language in animals is another post, as is animal consciousness — so if we can’t ask them, we have to observe them.

There are some clues from different species that suggest they experience intense emotions.

ELEPHANTS

The limbic systems of elephants are incredibly complex and vast and are the cornerstone for their remarkable emotional intelligence. For example, elephants form family groups that can stay together for decades, exhibiting strong ties with each other in times of joy or sorrow. Their strong bonds last throughout their lives.

Elephants cry — both when they hurt physically and when they’re hurt emotionally (sad). They mourn for lost loved ones. They have been seen them returning an entire year later to the bones of their deceased companions. It is truly special to witness how elephants honor and value family connections even after loved ones have passed away. They also have an extraordinary memory — up to three years — which allows them to recall painful memories such as death or separation from loved ones.

MARINE MAMMALS

Like elephants, whales have been known to grieve when separated from their families.

There are some heartbreaking sets of footage of various species of oceanic moms grieving their dead calves. In 2018 a mother orca Tahlequah carried her dead calf for 17 days and 1,000 miles. I think it’s important to remember that they’re mammals too; they give birth to live young, care for them as infants, and nurse them. That is an incredibly powerful bond.

Dolphins have demonstrated an uncanny ability to recognize individual humans over long periods (appearing to remember them with fondness). Dolphins can form incredibly close bonds with humans;

Caution is urged if you watch the documentary The Cove (about dolphin hunting practices in Japan).

The limbic systems of marine mammals are incredibly complex and powerful. Believe it or not, these impressive systems in some marine mammals are four times larger than the average human’s. Not only that, but they also contain spindle cells, granting them even greater emotional complexity.

Spindle cells (VENs) are specialized neurons present in humans and other large-brained mammals, including great apes, cetaceans (e.g. whales, dolphins, porpoises), and elephants. We think this type of neuron may be related to higher-level reasoning and social interaction. It does suggest that their level of emotional complexity may be greater than we know.

Many researchers have speculated that such intricate limbic systems give marine mammals capabilities that humans simply do not possess, including higher emotional intelligence.

GREAT APES

The emotions of other great apes can be surprisingly intricate and complex. Emotional behaviors observed include forms of empathy, self-awareness, problem-solving, grief (again), and joy.

Grief seems like a complicated emotion to me — much more than happiness. With happiness you could say — oh, it’s pleasurable, oh, it’s enjoying whatever-that-thing-is. But with grief — there seem to be more layers.

I’m sad because my friend is gone.

(Because I miss them?)

I’m sad because they are gone, and I have lost something. Someone. They aren’t here. And I’m sad FOR MYSELF because I was bonded to them/ attached to them/ loved them/ enjoyed them/ etc. I’m sad because of MY INNER EMOTIONAL reality.

This just seems so much like how humans process grief. In layers.

Researchers have noted that chimps respond with empathy to the distress of others. They commonly comfort and sometimes even offer food when another chimp is distressed.

They will also keep the peace by redistributing bananas if someone complains that their share is unfair. This suggests that not only do chimpanzees possess emotional intelligence, but it also seems to suggest they possess a similar sense of fairness(?).

HORSES

Science suggests that horses’ emotions run just as deep and turbulent as the humans who watch them.

Studies have suggested the presence of joy, fear, anger, frustration, loneliness, and even grief (again) in horses.

Horses signal these complex emotions through varied behavior like changes in facial expressions, vocalizations similar to snorting or nickering with varying tones of voice and cadences, and changes in posture such as a lowered head or ears laid back along the mane.

Having personally observed the incredible healing effect of Equine Assisted Therapy and therapeutic riding programs, it’s my theory that limbic resonance is at work.

So, what is limbic resonance?

LIMBIC RESONANCE

In Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon’s book “A General Theory of Love,” the authors make an insightful point about limbic resonance — the capacity we have to connect deeply with another person or persons.

Or animals.

It’s a way in which our nervous systems sync up.

In the book, the authors explain that when two people feel a strong sense of connection with each other, they share similar brain wave patterns, much like a musical ensemble playing in harmony. To be able to resonate on this level is essential to the establishment of healthy relationships.

It is a way for people (or animals) to communicate without words. It’s a form of empathy/ emotional expression/ emotional knowingness/ emotional broadcasting and receiving that helps us to connect with and understand one another on a deeper level.

This kind of connection goes beyond words, tapping into shared emotions and experiences between two separate beings. When we can emotionally resonate with someone, it creates a feeling of closeness, warmth, and understanding.

ANIMAL ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

I think horses and dogs tap into this limbic resonance in animal-assisted psychotherapy.

Well, it’s more than that. I don’t think they have to “tap into” anything. I think it’s just the wavelength and the vibe of how they operate regularly.

And of course, some horses and dogs are more attuned to emotions — just as some humans — are more attuned than others.

Some animals are highly sensitive to human emotions. And they can be trained to become even more attuned.

I think there is empathy and compassion. There is an awareness of suffering. The animals pick up on our inner reality. Particularly with PTSD.

Because PTSD is a nervous system legacy, the animals pick up on it. And my observations (and my personal belief) are that they want to help.

Now, of course, that is me projecting — BUT! It’s what seems to fit, and what seems to make sense contextually.

And it is INCREDIBLY profound to witness.

Implications

The implications of these findings are far-reaching and profound. They suggest not only that animals are capable of feeling complex emotions but also that their emotional lives may be more sophisticated than our own.

We’re still figuring out the human brain.

It is hard to wrap one’s mind around. Feeling something far beyond what humans can comprehend? We feel emotions so powerfully.

What would that emotional life be like? Feel like? I imagine it like going from greyscale to full color.

Overall, I think we can acknowledge animals may feel. It’s not a question in my mind. But it seems like we stop there. We don’t assume it feels more emotions because its limbic system is larger (comparatively). Why?

Maybe it’s our (current) lack of understanding about how the brain works differently among different species. Or our limited knowledge about animal communication in general?

Animals have deep emotional lives, often similar to our own. And although we may never know exactly what another creature is feeling, we can connect with them on an emotional level.

In some cases, such as with marine mammals and elephants, this emotional complexity may even surpass that of humans.

As we learn more about the emotional lives of animals, we may be able to better understand our own emotions and develop new ways to help people who are struggling emotionally.

We can learn a lot from them, particularly in terms of empathy and connection. For now, spending time with an animal can have a positive effect on our mood and well-being.