If the world's smallest violin is tiny enough, perhaps a couple of mice could play the world's saddest song on it.
A Canadian research team in the Pain Genetics Lab at McGill University discovered that a mouse's response to pain is intensified in the presence of another mouse that is also in pain. In addition, according to a study published in the June 30th issue of Science, the mice appear to synchronize their pain responses.
"Both of those things, ultimately, are suggestive of empathy," said Jeffrey Mogil, a psychology professor and one of the study's lead authors.
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Surprisingly, this only occurred if the mice knew each other—that is, if they had been cagemates for at least two weeks.
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"The message 'I'm in pain' appears to be transmitted visually," Mogil said. "Humans are very, very good at telling when another human is in pain by looking at the face, and we think that probably mice can do it, too."
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2 comments:
Interesting site. Useful information. Bookmarked.
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