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A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
Published on: February 20, 2019
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Male rats play a repeated donation game.
1Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, United States.
Physiology & Behavior
|March 18, 2017
Summary
Unrelated male rats demonstrate prosocial behavior by working for a partner in a game. Their cooperative actions are influenced by partner familiarity and responsiveness.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Animal Cognition
- Social Behavior
Background:
- Previous research indicated reciprocity in female rats.
- The current study investigates prosocial behavior in male rats.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if unrelated male rats engage in reciprocal behavior in an iterated sequential game.
- To assess the influence of partner familiarity and partner responsiveness on male rat behavior.
Main Methods:
- Male rats participated in a two-player operant task, alternating roles as Donor and Responder.
- Rats made choices between levers offering different food rewards for themselves and their partner.
- Experimental conditions included forced-choice and free-choice trials with familiar and unfamiliar partners.
Main Results:
- Male rats worked for their partners, especially with familiar cagemates.
- Partner familiarity and cooperative responses influenced the rats' behavior.
- Rats did not alter their own reward-seeking behavior based on partner actions.
Conclusions:
- Unrelated male rats exhibit prosocial behavior and work on behalf of partners.
- Behavior is sensitive to social familiarity and the partner's cooperative actions.
- Male rats' participation in reciprocal games is nuanced and context-dependent.
