The lobster defeat and victory// Fight between two lobsters. in this article, we will see what lobster will do after the long battle.
A lobster loser’s brain chemistry differs importantly from
that of a lobster winner. This is reflected in their relative postures. Whether
a lobster is confident or cringing depends on the ratio of two chemicals that
modulate communication between lobster neurons: serotonin and octopamine. Winning
increases the ratio of the former to the latter.
A lobster with high levels of serotonin and low levels of
octopamine is a cocky, strutting sort of shellfish, much less likely to back
down when challenged. This is because serotonin helps regulate postural flexion.
A flexed lobster extends its appendages so that it can look tall and dangerous,
like Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti Western. When a lobster that has just lost a
battle is exposed to serotonin, it will stretch itself out, advance even on
former victors, and fight longer and harder. The drugs prescribed to depressed
human beings, which are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, have much the
same chemical and behavioral effects. In one of the more staggering
demonstrations of the evolutionary continuity of life on Earth, Prozac even
cheers up lobsters.
High serotonin/low octopamine characterizes victor. The opposite
neurochemical configuration, a high ratio of octopamine to serotonin, produces
a defeated-looking, scrunched-up, inhibited, drooping, skulking sort of
lobster, very likely to hang around street corners and to vanish at the first
hint of trouble. Serotonin and octopamine also regulate the trail-flick reflex,
which serves to propel a lobster rapidly backward when it needs to escape. Less
provocation is necessary to trigger that reflex in a defeated lobster. You can see
an echo of that in the heightened startle reflex characteristic of the soldier
or battered child with post-traumatic stress disorder.
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