The Iron Ring

Appearing last week in Science (http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/312/5782/1967) is an article describing how mice display empathy towards other mice. Researchers used a writhing test to see if real time observation of pain in one mouse would affect the pain behaviors of another. They additionally tested these pairs when they were strangers, cagemates or siblings. Their results indicate that when mice are exposed to another mouse experiencing pain, their pain behaviors are also modulated. They further tested the nature of this social modulation by systematically blocking each sense; sight, sound, smell, touch, and they determined that the only way to block the increase was to block the mice from seeing each other.

Do mice experience empathy? Do they notice their counterparts experiencing pain and respond in kind? It must be somehow different from their concept of fear, because logic would dictate that a counterpart in pain may be experiencing something dangerous that must be avoided. Can mice tell the difference between pain and death?

The study reminded me of a recent communication in Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7092/full/441421a.html), which determined that lobsters are capable of identifying and avoiding other sick lobsters. This makes more sense to me; it is tied to an instinct for preservation.

# posted by Sarah : 7:03 PM