Some people are just more willing to help others, and a new study reveals why. By observing rats performing helping behavior tasks, researchers found that rats were more likely to help those with whom they had had positive social experiences. Areas of their brains associated with empathy and motivation were activated. Interestingly, oxytocin, the "connecting hormone," plays a crucial role in this - rats with higher oxytocin activity were more motivated to help others.
Helping behavior may stem more from an emotional bond than just an awareness of pain. In rats, the higher the oxytocin activity, the more motivated they were to help others, suggesting that attachment inspires compassion.
Why are some people more helpful? Tel Aviv University's Inbal Bartal and colleagues explore this question in a new paper published today (April 28) in JNeurosci, using studies in mice. The researchers wanted to understand why some people are more sensitive to the suffering of others and how this sensitivity translates into helpful behavior.
The research team used a previously developed task to observe the behavior and brain activity of mice that were either helpful or unwilling to help others. In this task, a free rat is given the opportunity to free a trapped companion trapped in a small restrainer.
They found that rats were more likely to help if they had had a positive social experience with the trapped rat beforehand. Mice that were more helpful also showed higher activity in areas of the brain associated with empathy and motivation than mice that were less helpful.
The researchers also observed increased expression of oxytocin receptors in the brain areas of the helping rats responsible for driving motivation, compared with rats that were less able to help. The authors suggest that this may mean that caring for others, rather than empathizing with others' distress, is more helpful in promoting helping behavior.
When oxytocin signaling was suppressed, mice were less friendly toward other mice, suggesting that oxytocin may support helping by making mice feel attached to other mice.
"We appear to live in an increasingly polarized society with gaps in empathy for others. This study helps us better understand prosocial behavior, or helpful behavior. We often see others in distress, but tend to only help specific people. The similarities between human and mouse brains help us understand how the brain mediates prosocial decision-making," Bartel said.
Compiled from /ScitechDaily