In a remarkable study at the University of Southern California, scientists discovered that mice can provide ‘first aid’ care to their companions. They were even able to sniff, lick, and pull the tongues of mice kept under anaesthesia in an attempt to open their airways.
The ‘mouse-to-mouse’ behaviour was recorded to be similar to the human’ mouth-to-mouth’ CPR method for resuscitation.
The neuroscientists observed the scenario by placing a drugged mouse in an enclosed space with other rodents. They noticed that its peers spent time sniffing and grooming. As the drugged mouse became increasingly unresponsive, the "bystander" turned to more aggressive first aid tactics, such as pulling the tongue, which researchers confirmed was a powerful method for expanding the airways of unconscious mice.
Huizhong Whit Tao, a neuroscientist at the university and study co-author, stated that ‘’this is the first time that we've reported these kinds of emergency-like responses from animals." Adding that ‘’it seems the mouse can perform, deliberately, this whole set of behaviours."
The team also placed small objects in the mouth of the unconscious mouse and observed that the ‘tongue-pulling’ mate successfully removed the objects obstructing the airways.
"This was the most surprising part of the study. Obviously the effects are beneficial," Tao expressed.
Another fascinating find was that mice were more likely to rush into action if the unconscious mouse was familiar to them, as opposed to mice they had never met before!
"These behaviours emerged after prolonged immobility and unresponsiveness of the partner and ceased once the partner regained activity, suggesting that they were triggered by observing unresponsive states of others," Tao added.
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