Rats help one another - empathy and pro-social behavior

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The news summary describes traits often missing in children with autism.

The researchers' findings help clarify the neurophysiologically

ingrained depth that is affected in many children with autism.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-why-ratting-out-may-be-a-g\

ood-thing-20111208,0,2552134.story

As charges of greed, self-indulgence and self-interest fly in these

hyper-partisan political times, humans might do well to look to rats for

lessons in kindness and caring.

A University of Chicago experiment to determine how much empathy rats

have for each other had some surprising results, which are being

published today in the research journal Science.

In laboratory studies, a rat was restrained in a small cage that could

be opened only from the outside. A second rat, seeing the dilemma of the

trapped rat, immediately began tirelessly trying to find a way to free

his fellow rat.

Eventually, the second rat taught itself to open the cage door, freeing

the restrained rat, leading to what strongly resembled a triumphal

celebration between the two. Even when faced with an alternative choice

of chocolate chips, the rat would not be deterred from helping its

fellow rat.

As simple as it sounds, the experiment is being hailed as a new paradigm

that will help scientists trace the development of emotion in mammals

back through the evolutionary tree....

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