Some individuals are simply more inclined to help others, and a new study reveals why.
By observing rats in a helping behavior task, researchers found that rats were more likely to aid peers they had positive social experiences with. Their brains lit up in regions tied to empathy and motivation. Interestingly, oxytocin, the “bonding hormone,” played a crucial role—rats with higher oxytocin activity were more motivated to help.
Exploring Why Some Are More Helpful
Why are some people more willing to help others? A new paper published today (April 28) in JNeurosci by Inbal Bartal of Tel Aviv University and colleagues explores this question by studying rats. The researchers wanted to understand why some individuals are more sensitive to the distress of others and how that sensitivity translates into helpful actions.
Using a task they previously developed, the team observed the behavior and brain activity of rats that were either highly helpful or less inclined to help. In this task, a free rat has the opportunity to release a distressed peer trapped inside a small restrainer.
They found that rats were more likely to help if they had positive social experiences with the trapped rat beforehand. The more helpful rats also showed greater activity in brain areas linked to empathy and motivation compared to their less helpful counterparts.
The Role of Oxytocin in Motivation
The researchers also observed that helper rats had increased oxytocin receptor expression in a brain region that drives motivation compared to the less helpful rats. According to the authors, this could mean that caring for others, more than relating to others’ distresses, contributes to helpfulness.
When oxytocin signaling was inhibited, rats were less friendly with others, suggesting oxytocin may support helping by making rats feel attachment to others.
“We appear to live in an increasingly polarized society where there is a gap in empathy towards others. This work helps us understand prosocial, or helpful, acts better. We see others in distress all the time but tend to help only certain individuals. The similarity between human and rat brains helps us understand the way our brain mediates prosocial decisions,” says Bartel.
Reference: “Neural and behavioral correlates of individual variability in rat helping behavior: a role for social affiliation and oxytocin receptors” by R. Hazani, J.M. Breton, E. Trachtenberg, K. Ruzal, B. Shvalbo, B. Kantor, A. Maman, E. Bigelman, S. Cole, A. Weller and I. Ben-Ami Bartal, 27 April 2025, Journal of Neuroscience.
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0845-24.2025
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2 Comments
Because we like some people, and the others are family.
Jonathan Haidt, in his book The Righteous Mind, cites research contradictory to the above insinuation about oxytocin potentially helping societal polarization. Their findings showed increased oxytocin helped bonding within groups but enhanced negativity towards outsiders. Oxytocin makes people more “groupish” not more loving/caring/empathetic in general.