Empathy in rodents

The role of familiarity in emotional response and helping behavior in mus musculus mice

Abstract

The purpose of the present experimental investigation was to analyze the emotional response of a known type of rodent (laboratory mus musus mice) as well as its helping behavior generated by the confinement of a partner in a movement restriction device, under the influence of the familiarity defined by the time of cohabitation in pairs. Sixteen male mice of the Swiss Albinos strain, naive, 35 days old, were divided into pairs in which one of them was confined while the other remained free. The study focused its attention on the behavior of the free mouse over 12 measurement sessions and under the influence of four cohabitation values. The results showed in the first instance that the finding of the partner in difficulties generates high levels of behavioral activation of the mouse in freedom, which is significantly reduced after the release of the congener. Likewise, the study showed that the help behavior in the form of the opening of the device door and measured through the latency in which it is performed, is reduced as the sessions progress, which means that the release of the partner Strengthens the opening behavior of the device. The research also suggested that only the period of 216 hours of coexistence could differentially affect the emotional response; however, the different values ​​of cohabitation did not exert significant influences on helping behavior. These results indicate that mice are able to show some form of empathic emotional concern that arouses the behavior of helping the couple. Finally, this article discusses the evolutionary and contextual connotations of animal empathy.