Our natural inclination toward helping others may be buried deep in our mammalian DNA, at least according to researchers who observed mice performing what can only be described as first aid in an attempt to revive their unconscious mice comrades.
The medial amygdala is the part of the mammalian brain responsible for involuntary functions. Anything you do without thinking about it, without processing it, just pure gut instinct and reaction all happens there. It’s this all-important part of the brain that neuroscientists from the University of California in Los Angeles found lighting up like a Christmas tree in so-called “bystander” mice when one of their buddies was passed out.
The specific behavior the mice exhibited is a lot like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but with a twist. The mice use a technique that involves using either their mouths or their little paws to grab the tongue and pull it to help clear the air mousy comrades’ airways to allow them to breathe again.
Sure, they have not yet mastered the technique of chest compressions to the beat of “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, but impressive nonetheless.
The neuroscientists found the response wasn’t just a natural reflex but a part of a complex web of brain activity that also included a rise in hormonal signals, particularly with an increase in oxytocin, a hormone related to the formation of social bonds.
This, according to the researchers, suggests that while there is some degree of natural, instinctual response occurring, there’s also a degree of conscious decision-making going on.
All of this is rather heartwarming until you get to the part where the researchers suggest that because there is a degree of decision-making going on, the mice showed a preference for helping familiar companions over strangers. So the mice were just as susceptible to a bias toward the familiar like us.
The findings overall suggest there is, deep down in our mammalian genes, a strong sense of empathy and altruism. This is demonstrated in a variety of ways by a variety of mammalian life forms, from an emergency technician doing chest compressions on a passed-out person to a mouse doing the same thing to an unconscious friend.
The post Mice Perform ‘First Aid’ on Unconscious Mates, Just Like Humans appeared first on VICE.
