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Stunning video shows a mouse giving ‘CPR’ to his unconscious buddy

Mouse to mouse resuscitation?

via Science

A mouse attempts to revive an unconscious friend.

We do the animal kingdom an enormous disservice when we believe that specific characteristics are limited to our species. Throughout history, it’s been assumed that humans were the only creatures on Earth to exhibit empathy, rational thinking, consciousness, and the ability to use tools. But the more we learn about other species, the more those assumptions have fallen by the wayside.

A new study from the University of Southern California shows that when a mouse encounters another unconscious mouse, it will aid the mouse in a way that resembles human CPR. The researchers accidentally observed this behavior while studying why a mouse’s tongue protrudes under anesthesia.

“They start with sniffing, and then grooming, and then with a very intensive or physical interaction,” Li Zhang, a physiologist at USC and one of the study’s authors, told New Scientist. “They really open the mouth of this animal and pull out its tongue.” The mice were also found to lick the anesthetized mouse’s eyeballs and bite its mouth as part of the care behavior. In more than half of the interactions, the mouse pulled the tongue out of the unresponsive partner to clear the airway. “If we extended the observation window, maybe the success rate could be even higher,” team member Huizhong Tao told New Scientist.

Do mice give CPR?

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The behavior looks a lot like CPR, but researchers are careful not to anthropomorphize or assume that the animal is behaving as a human would. Zhang says the behavior is more of an attempt to wake the unresponsive mouse up as if he were using smelling salts or a slap to bring them to consciousness. However, they believe that tongue repositioning is done to ensure the mouse’s airway is clear.

The study also found that mice familiar with the unresponsive mouse are more responsive to the animal. This could show that mice care more for those they are familiar with than those they have never met. “These findings add to the evidence that an impulse to help others in states of extreme distress is shared by many species,” neuroscientists William Sheeran and Zoe Donaldson wrote in a commentary accompanying the study.

The behaviors were driven by the release of oxytocin in the amygdala and hypothalamus regions of the brain. The hormone is associated with caring behaviors in various vertebrate species. James Burkett, a neuroscientist outside of the study research group, says that the release of oxytocin in the mouse’s brain is evidence of an “altruistic impulse” that appears to be born into mice.

The caring behavior exhibited by the mice has also been found in other species. Dolphins have been known to bring an ailing member of its pod to the surface for air when sick or injured. Elephants are known to support wounded or ailing relatives.

This study is another reminder that the line between human and animal intelligence and emotions is far blurrier than we think. The evidence continues to show that even species as small as mice—a species we call pests—have a natural impulse to help one another. The more we learn about the animal kingdom, the more we need to reconsider the uniqueness of many characteristics we call “human.”

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