https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq2677
Reviving-like prosocial behavior in response to unconscious or dead conspecifics in rodents
Editor’s summary
In emergency situations, humans often exhibit instinctual “first aid” behaviors toward others. Whether and how other species show prosocial behaviors toward others is unclear. In two independent studies, W. Sun et al. and F. Sun et al. showed thatmice exhibit stereotyped behaviors toward unconscious conspecifics, escalating from sniffing and grooming to licking of the head and tongue pulling, which accelerated recovery from unconsciousness(see the Perspective by Sheeran and Donaldson). The activation of neurons in the medial amygdala and oxytocin-expressing neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus was required to trigger these behaviors. The results elucidate different aspects of a previously unrecognized prosocial behavior in mice and its underlying neurobiological mechanisms. —Mattia Maroso
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq2679
A neural basis for prosocial behavior toward unresponsive individuals
CONCLUSION
Our findings reveal thatmice exhibit rescue-like behaviors toward unresponsive conspecifics, characterized by intense physical contact directed at the recipient’s head region. This response accelerates recovery from unresponsiveness, potentially reducing risks to unresponsive individuals and enhancing their survival.We have also uncovered that the MeA encodes the unresponsive state of others and drives head-directed grooming toward them. Notably, the behavioral response toward unresponsive conspecifics differs from that toward awake, stressed individuals, and these responses are differentially represented in the MeA. These findings shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying prosocial responses toward unresponsive individuals, broadening our understanding of animals’ ability to detect and behaviorally react to different adverse conditions of others.