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News From the Field

Helping Your Fellow Rat: Rodents Show Empathy-driven Behavior


December 8, 2011

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The first evidence of empathy-driven helping behavior in rodents has been observed in laboratory rats that repeatedly freed companions from a restraint, according to a new study by University of Chicago neuroscientists. The observation, published today in Science, places the origin of pro-social helping behavior earlier in the evolutionary tree than previously thought.Full Story

Source
University of Chicago Medical Center

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