Cox, S.S., Kearns, A.M., Woods, S.K., Brown, B.J., Brown, S.J. and Reichel, C.M. (2022) The Role of the Anterior Insula during Targeted Helping Behavior in Male Rats. Scientific Reports, 12, Article No. 3315.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07365-3

has been cited by the following article:

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

  AUTHORS: Gabriela F. Marinho, Jaqueline M. Wuo, João Paulo Kurita, Alvaro C. Lima, Regina H. Silva

  KEYWORDS: Animal Models, Empathy, Prosocial Behavior, Rats

  JOURNAL NAME: Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, Vol.14 No.8, August 7, 2024

  ABSTRACT: 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.