Calling someone a āratā doesnāt have the same meaning after a new study published in the journal āCurrent Biology.ā The study explores how empathetic rats can be, revealing that domestic rats will avoid harming other rats if they can.
The rodents were put to the test by being trained to pull levers for treats. But if the lever shocked their neighboring rat, several rats would stop pulling that lever and switch to another one. Thatās called āharm aversion,ā and itās something that rat brains share with those of humans.
Co-author Christian Keysers of the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience says the likeness is āsuper-exciting for two reasons.ā For one, it suggests that mammals have evolved to prevent harm to others . . . and secondly, the ratsā harm aversion behavior canĀ help scientists learn more about the psychology of sociopaths and psychopaths.
Source:National Geographic