Rats are able to feel empathy for, and help out, other rats, new research claims – unless they've been given a dose of anti-anxiety medication.
Rats given midazolam, which is commonly used for anaesthesia, sedation and severe agitation, were less likely to free fellow rats from locked cages than counterparts who had not been given the drug.
Previous studies had found that rats were willing and able to free other rats from small containers. But this research was not replicated when the free rats were given the midazolam.
They would, however, release the container when it contained a treat such as chocolate.
"We wanted to know what drives these rats," said Peggy Mason, who led the study. "And the rats help each other because they care."
"They need to share the affect of the trapped rat in order to help, and that’s a fundamental finding that tells us something about how we operate, because we’re mammals like rats too."
The team hypothesise that the rats were not motivated to help one another when medicated because their heart rates did not increase enough for them to experience distress.
"Helping others could be your new drug. Go help some people and you’ll feel really good," said Mason. "I think that’s a mammalian trait that has developed through evolution. Helping another is good for the species."
The study has been published by Frontiers in Psychology.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
