Just Like Stupid Humans, Fish Get Cocky When They Drink
- Robert Sorokanich for http://gizmodo.com May 17th, 2014
- Source: http://gizmodo.com/just-like-stupid-humans-fish-get-cocky-when-theyre-dru-1577985755
We humans love booze as liquid courage, but we're not the only ones who feel extra capable after a few swigs. New research shows that a tipsy zebra fish will swim faster than the sober fish in its school—like a big showoff. And just like humans, the sober fish will speed up rather than be outdone by a drunkard. Humans: basically, we're just big fish.
The research, published this week in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, studied the social effect that sober peers would have on a single drunken zebrafish. Surprisingly, like the hero and villain in a comic book, the sober and drunk fish each had an influence on the others' behavior.