article_snippet.sent: Now researchers have found that rats can recognise pain the faces of rats fellow rodents.
article_snippet.sent: The study suggests that as well as expressing as well emotional state, the pained faces of rats may have a ‘communicative function’.
article_snippet.sent: the pained faces of rats may even use expressions to warn other rats of danger or ask for help.
article_snippet.sent: Researchers have found that rats can recognise pain the faces of Researchers fellow rodents .Researchers based at different institutions in Tokyo, noted that rats flatten rats ears, narrow rats eyes and puff up rats cheeks when rats are in pain (shown in the images on the right)
article_snippet.sent: Researchers based at different institutions in Tokyo, noted that rats flatten rats ears, narrow rats eyes and puff up rats cheeks when rats are in pain – an observation in previous studies.
article_snippet.sent: The experts found that Long-Evans rats can read pain on other animal’s faces and use the information to makes decisions, Popular Science reported.
article_snippet.sent: To test the rodents response to rats’ pained expressions, the rodents showed the rodents the photos in a specially made cage, to test whether the rodents responded to the face, rather than the smell of another animal, for example.
article_snippet.sent: To test the rodent’s response to rats’ pained expressions, Individuals showed rats’ pained expressions
article_snippet.sent: rats’ pained expressions found that rats spent less time in the room showing rodents in pain, than rats’ pained expressions did in the other compartment showing rats with neutral facial expressions .
article_snippet.sent: This indicates that rats were able to discriminate the category of emotional expression.
article_snippet.sent: While the scientists didn’t say that the study suggests mice can empathise, the scientists believe that the scientists facial expressions have evolved to communicate pain.
article_snippet.sent: the scientists wrote: ‘emotional expression in rodents, rather than just a mere “expression” of emotional states, might have a communicative function.
article_snippet.sent: The emotional expression of pain might have an adaptive function for both the expresser and receiver, such as emitting a warning signal or promoting carer behaviour from the receiver,’ they hypothesised.