Anxiolytic Treatment Impairs Helping Behavior in Rats.
Anxiolytic Treatment Impairs Helping Behavior in Rats.
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DOI：
10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00850
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发表时间：
2016
影响因子：
3.8
通讯作者：
Mason P
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ben-Ami Bartal I;Shan H;Molasky NM;Murray TM;Williams JZ;Decety J;Mason P
尽管对人类进行了数十年的研究，但激励个人帮助他人的生物机制仍然知之甚少。为了研究哺乳动物亲社会性的根源，我们建立了帮助行为测试，一个范式，其中大鼠面临一个同种被困在一个限制器，只能从外面打开。在重复的测试过程中，暴露在被困笼中的大鼠学会打开限制器的门，从而帮助被困大鼠逃跑。这种自然行为的发现为探索啮齿动物帮助行为的动机提供了一个独特的机会，从而更深入地了解生物学对人类亲社会性的影响。为了确定情感反应是否会激发开门，接受咪达唑仑（一种苯二氮卓类抗焦虑药）的大鼠进行了帮助行为测试。咪达唑仑治疗的大鼠表现出较少的帮助行为比盐水治疗的大鼠或大鼠接受没有注射。然而，咪达唑仑治疗的大鼠打开了一个含有巧克力的限制器，突出了抗焦虑药的社会特异性作用。为了确定咪达唑仑是否通过交感神经阻滞作用干扰帮助，给予外周限制性β-肾上腺素能受体拮抗剂纳多洛尔;纳多洛尔不干扰帮助。研究人员测量了被困在笼子里的大鼠的皮质酮反应，并将其与大鼠随后的帮助行为进行了比较。具有最大皮质酮反应的大鼠表现出最少的帮助行为，而具有最小反应的大鼠在最短的潜伏期内表现出最一致的帮助行为。这些结果进行了讨论，他们之间的相互作用的压力和亲社会行为的影响。最后，我们观察到，开门似乎是加强。设计了一种新的分析工具来询问开门的模式，以寻找老鼠在一次会议上的行为影响他在下一次会议上的行为的迹象。结果表明，帮助一只被困的老鼠比巧克力更有激励价值。总之，这一系列实验清楚地表明了情感在激发啮齿动物亲社会行为中的基本作用，以及需要一个帮助者来与受害者的情感产生共鸣。
Despite decades of research with humans, the biological mechanisms that motivate an individual to help others remain poorly understood. In order to investigate the roots of pro-sociality in mammals, we established the helping behavior test, a paradigm in which rats are faced with a conspecific trapped in a restrainer that can only be opened from the outside. Over the course of repeated test sessions, rats exposed to a trapped cagemate learn to open the door to the restrainer, thereby helping the trapped rat to escape. The discovery of this natural behavior provides a unique opportunity to probe the motivation of rodent helping behavior, leading to a deeper understanding of biological influences on human pro-sociality. To determine if an affective response motivates door-opening, rats receiving midazolam, a benzodiazepine anxiolytic, were tested in the helping behavior test. Midazolam-treated rats showed less helping behavior than saline-treated rats or rats receiving no injection. Yet, midazolam-treated rats opened a restrainer containing chocolate, highlighting the socially specific effects of the anxiolytic. To determine if midazolam interferes with helping through a sympatholytic effect, the peripherally restricted beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist nadolol was administered; nadolol did not interfere with helping. The corticosterone response of rats exposed to a trapped cagemate was measured and compared to the rats’ subsequent helping behavior. Rats with the greatest corticosterone responses showed the least helping behavior and those with the smallest responses showed the most consistent helping at the shortest latency. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the interaction between stress and pro-social behavior. Finally, we observed that door-opening appeared to be reinforcing. A novel analytical tool was designed to interrogate the pattern of door-opening for signs that a rat’s behavior on one session influenced his behavior on the next session. Results suggest that helping a trapped rat has a greater motivational value than does chocolate. In sum, this series of experiments clearly demonstrates the fundamental role of affect in motivating pro-social behavior in rodents and the need for a helper to resonate with the affect of a victim.