Motivational and Methodological Factors Involved in the Helping Behavior Test in Laboratory Rodents  

作　　者：Gabriela F. Marinho Jaqueline M. Wuo João Paulo Kurita Alvaro C. Lima Regina H. Silva Gabriela F. Marinho;Jaqueline M. Wuo;João Paulo Kurita;Alvaro C. Lima;Regina H. Silva(Pharmacology Department, Federal University of So Paulo, So Paulo, Brazil)

机构地区：[1]Pharmacology Department, Federal University of So Paulo, So Paulo, Brazil

出　　处：《Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science》2024年第8期240-254,共15页行为与脑科学期刊（英文）

摘　　要：Empathy allows humans and other animals to share the emotional state of another, adopting that individual’s perspective on a given situation. This ability is fundamental for species living in groups. Helping behavior in laboratory animals has been used to study empathy. In this test, subjects are exposed to a conspecific that is trapped and learn to open the cage to release the other animal. However, the interpretation of helping behavior as an emphatically motivated action is still controversial. Here we review the studies that use the helping behavioral test proposed by Ben-Ami Bartal and colleagues in 2011 to better understand motivational factors for this behavior. In addition, we compare methodological aspects of these studies. In conclusion, helping behavior can be driven by empathy, but other factors such as the desire for social contact and learning components cannot be ruled out as motivators. In addition, studies focused on evaluating neurobiological mechanisms underlying helping behavior in laboratory rodents can help elucidate the factors involved in releasing the trapped co-specific.Empathy allows humans and other animals to share the emotional state of another, adopting that individual’s perspective on a given situation. This ability is fundamental for species living in groups. Helping behavior in laboratory animals has been used to study empathy. In this test, subjects are exposed to a conspecific that is trapped and learn to open the cage to release the other animal. However, the interpretation of helping behavior as an emphatically motivated action is still controversial. Here we review the studies that use the helping behavioral test proposed by Ben-Ami Bartal and colleagues in 2011 to better understand motivational factors for this behavior. In addition, we compare methodological aspects of these studies. In conclusion, helping behavior can be driven by empathy, but other factors such as the desire for social contact and learning components cannot be ruled out as motivators. In addition, studies focused on evaluating neurobiological mechanisms underlying helping behavior in laboratory rodents can help elucidate the factors involved in releasing the trapped co-specific.

关 键 词：Animal Models EMPATHY Prosocial Behavior Rats 

分 类 号：TG1[金属学及工艺—金属学]