Authors:
Satoshi F. Nakashima, Masatoshi Ukezono, Hiroshi Nishida,

Ryuunosuke Sudo and Yuji Takano


Title:
Receiving of emotional signal of pain from conspecifics in

laboratory rats


Journal:
 Royal Society Open Science


doi: 10.1098/rsos.140381


論文URL:
 http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/2/4/140381


Abstract:
Though recent studies have shown that rodents express

emotions with their face, whether emotional expression in rodents has

a communicative function between conspecifics is still unclear. Here,

we demonstrate the ability of visual recognition of emotional

expressions in laboratory rats. We found that Long-Evans rats avoid

images of pain expressions of conspecifics but not those of neutral

expressions. The results indicate that rats use visual emotional

signals from conspecifics to adjust their behaviour in an environment

to avoid a potentially dangerous place. Therefore, emotional

expression in rodents, rather than just a mere ‘expression’ of

emotional states, might have a communicative function.


著者Contact先の email:
nakashima.satoshi[at]lab.ntt.co.jp; shaikh.cogpsy[at]gmail.com