Behavioral and mechanistic insight into rodent empathy

Sivaselvachandran, Sivaani; Acland, Erinn L.; Abdallah, Salsabil; Martin, Loren J.

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.007

Cited by 87 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 69 publications

(95 reference statements)

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“…Interpreting behaviour is contentious but by combining such information with data on the level of effective emotional regulation for each species and with features of the two other requirements (response and outcome) we could develop a more complete picture of the observed phenomena. Although we have not discussed evidence for neural mechanisms of empathy in non‐human animals herein (most of the available data comes from rodent studies, and there are several reviews available: Panksepp & Lahvis, ; Panksepp & Panksepp, ; Keum & Shin, ; Meyza et al ., ; Sivaselvachandran et al ., ), the study of the neural basis of empathy is very promising for assessing continuity between empathy in humans and other species. Finally, future studies assessing the motives underlying possible empathic behaviours (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Targeted helping requires sophisticated cognitive capacities that are not thought to be present in rodents. However, their behavioural ecology and new empirical evidence suggest that some rodents, particularly rats, could be interesting subjects to investigate the roots of helping behaviour (Panksepp & Lahvis, ; Panksepp & Panksepp, ; Kirk, McMillan & Roberts, ; Hernandez‐Lallement et al ., ; Sivaselvachandran et al ., ).…”

Section: Empathic Perspective‐takingmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…If rats' helping behaviour is mainly driven by social contact as proposed by Silberberg et al . (), rats should open restrainers similarly for distressed and non‐distressed cagemates (Sivaselvachandran et al ., ). Sato et al .…”

Section: Empathic Perspective‐takingmentioning

confidence: 97%

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The comparative study of empathy: sympathetic concern and empathic perspective‐taking in non‐human animals

Pérez-Manrique

Gomila

2017

Biological Reviews

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While empathy is a century-old psychological concept, its study in non-human animals has become the focus of much recent scientific interest, as it promises to provide the clues to understand the evolutionary origins of our social and moral nature. A review of the comparative study of empathy is thus timely to complement and constrain anthropocentric views, and to integrate current findings. However, this is not an easy task. The study of animal empathy has developed using different paradigms, different concepts of the phenomena involved, and the absence of a systematic program. Herein, we carry out a comprehensive review of the literature on complex forms of empathy in non-human animals: sympathetic concern and empathic perspective-taking. In particular, we focus on consolation and targeted helping, as the best examples of each category. In so doing, we try to shed light on the current debate concerning whether these phenomena are exclusively human traits. First, we try to clarify the terminology and taxonomy of forms of empathy, providing operative criteria for these phenomena that are applicable to both human and non-human animals. Second, we discuss whether the available evidence qualifies such behaviour as empathic. Third, we aim to provide an integrative view of the field, clarifying the challenges and conditions to satisfy. We also hope to highlight the importance of the study of these processes for elucidating the evolutionary history of this capacity across the animal kingdom.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Empathic Perspective‐takingmentioning

confidence: 97%

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The comparative study of empathy: sympathetic concern and empathic perspective‐taking in non‐human animals

Pérez-Manrique

Gomila

2017

Biological Reviews

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“…By contrast, vicarious freezing in observational fear conditioning is evoked by social transmission of the demonstrator animal's affective state and should therefore be dependent on social perception and the integrated social cognitive processes . And the process by which recognition of the demonstrator's distress triggers fear in the observer is, by definition, a form of affective empathy, a critical factor involved in social fear transmission and the ensuing observational learning . Observational fear learning studies in primates and humans, where subjects recognize fear by observing a conspecific suffering, showed that trait empathy was positively associated with stronger vicarious fear response …”

Section: Main Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Like humans, mice and rats exhibit observational fear, social modulations of pain, consolation, and prosocial helping behavior . Observational fear is a rodent behavioral model for assessing empathic fear . In observational fear, a mouse is vicariously fear conditioned by observing a conspecific receive aversive foot shocks .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observational fear behavior in rodents as a model for empathy

Kim

Keum

Shin

2018

Genes Brain and Behavior

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Empathy enables social mammals to recognize and share emotion with others and is well‐documented in non‐human primates. During the past few years, systematic observations have showed that a primal form of empathy also exists in rodents, indicating that empathy has an evolutionary continuity. Now, using rodents exhibiting emotional empathy, the molecular and cellular study of empathy in animals has begun in earnest. In this article, we will review recent reports that indicate that rodents can share states of fear with others, and will try to highlight new understandings of the neural circuitry, biochemistry and genetics of empathic fear. We hope that the use of rodent models will enhance understanding of the mechanisms of human empathy and provide insights into how to treat social deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by empathy impairment.

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Empathic behavior according to the state of others in mice

et al. 2018

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IntroductionEmpathic behavior is essential for social activities in social animals. Therefore, lack of empathy is a feature of several neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms of empathy and which animals possess it remain unclear. In this study, we investigated whether mice show empathic behavior.MethodsWe tested mice for empathy‐like behaviors toward conspecifics who were distressed. We investigated behavioral changes in cage‐mate or stranger mice.ResultsWhen the conspecific mice were in a painful state, subject mice showed preferential approach behavior toward them, presumably recognizing the state. Both visual information and olfactory information are indispensable for this empathic behavior.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the mouse recognizes the emotional state of the conspecific and engages in social interaction. The results of this study are useful for the elucidation of the causal mechanisms involved in neuropsychiatric disorders and may contribute in the development of novel treatment targets.

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Behavioral and mechanistic insight into rodent empathy

Cited by 87 publications

References 69 publications

The comparative study of empathy: sympathetic concern and empathic perspective‐taking in non‐human animals

The comparative study of empathy: sympathetic concern and empathic perspective‐taking in non‐human animals

Observational fear behavior in rodents as a model for empathy

Empathic behavior according to the state of others in mice

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