Two prairie voles in a lab, one tethered, symbolizing empathy research.

Can Prairie Voles Unlock the Secrets of Empathy?

Lena Kashyap in Science & Nature August 2025 • 4 min read.

"New research explores prosocial behavior in prairie voles, offering potential insights into understanding empathy and social connection."

Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is a cornerstone of human social interaction. While often considered a uniquely human trait, scientists are increasingly exploring its roots in the animal kingdom. Recent research focusing on prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) offers a compelling model for understanding the biological basis of empathy and prosocial behavior.

Prairie voles are small rodents known for their monogamous relationships and strong social bonds, making them ideal subjects for studying the neurobiological underpinnings of empathy. Unlike many other rodents, prairie voles exhibit behaviors that suggest a capacity for understanding and responding to the distress of their partners. Researchers are now exploring how specific brain regions and neurotransmitters in these animals contribute to empathic responses.

A groundbreaking study published in BMC Research Notes delves into the unconditioned prosocial behavior of prairie voles, suggesting that these animals exhibit a distinct form of empathy that doesn't require prior training or reward. This research identifies key neural mechanisms that could shed light on the complex interplay of oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine in regulating empathic responses.

How Do Prairie Voles Show Empathy?

Two prairie voles in a lab, one tethered, symbolizing empathy research.

Traditional methods of studying empathy in rodents often involve training animals to perform specific tasks in response to the distress of others, such as rescuing a companion from a painful situation. However, these approaches can be confounded by the training process itself, making it difficult to isolate genuine empathic behavior from learned responses. The recent study introduces a novel social test that aims to overcome these limitations.

In this test, a prairie vole is placed in an arena with a stimulus animal that is gently tethered. The researchers then observe whether the test animal attempts to remove the tether, which is interpreted as an act of prosocial behavior motivated by empathy. To ensure that this behavior is indeed driven by empathy, the researchers compare the time spent attempting to remove the tether with the time spent engaging in exploratory sniffing or interacting with a non-social object.

Empathic Contact: Time spent chewing or pulling on the tether/collar within 1.3 cm of the stimulus animal.
Exploratory Sniffing: General exploration of the environment.
Non-Social Object Contact: Interaction with an inanimate object.

The results of the study indicate that prairie voles do indeed engage in empathic contact, spending significantly more time attempting to remove the tether than interacting with the non-social object. This suggests that the behavior is a distinct prosocial response driven by the distress of the stimulus animal.

Unlocking Future of Empathy

These findings underscore the potential of prairie voles as a valuable model for studying the neurobiological mechanisms of empathy. By identifying the specific brain regions and neurotransmitters involved in empathic responses, researchers may gain new insights into the complexities of human social behavior and develop novel treatments for social deficits associated with conditions like autism spectrum disorder and social anxiety.

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This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1186/s13104-018-3934-0, Alternate LINK

Title: Novel Unconditioned Prosocial Behavior In Prairie Voles (Microtus Ochrogaster) As A Model For Empathy

Subject: General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Journal: BMC Research Notes

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Authors: Lucas A. Stetzik, Alana W. Sullivan, Heather B. Patisaul, Bruce S. Cushing

Published: 2018-12-01

Everything You Need To Know

How do prairie voles specifically demonstrate what researchers interpret as empathic behavior?

Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) demonstrate empathy through behaviors suggesting an understanding of their partners' distress. Researchers observe them in scenarios where one vole is gently tethered. The test vole will spend significantly more time trying to remove the tether than it would spend interacting with a non-social object. The time spent chewing or pulling on the tether near the stimulus animal indicates 'Empathic Contact'.

What role do oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine play in prairie voles and how might that inform research?

The study published in *BMC Research Notes* suggests that the unconditioned prosocial behavior observed in prairie voles may offer insight into the roles of oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine, three compounds which seem to regulate empathic responses. Further research in this area may open avenues toward understanding social deficits.

How does the recent study's method of studying empathy in prairie voles differ from traditional methods used with other rodents?

Studying empathy in rodents has traditionally involved training animals to react to the distress of others. This new approach with prairie voles involves a novel social test, where a vole is placed in an arena with a tethered vole, and researchers observe the test vole's behavior. Comparing the time spent on 'Empathic Contact', 'Exploratory Sniffing', and 'Non-Social Object Contact', they determine if the behavior is an empathic prosocial response.

What makes prairie voles a suitable model for studying empathy compared to other rodents?

Prairie voles are uniquely positioned in the animal kingdom due to their monogamous relationships and strong social bonds. These characteristics make them ideal subjects for studying the biological foundations of empathy, especially in comparison to other rodents that do not typically display such social behaviors. Further study could help map the connections between pair bonding, oxytocin levels, and display of empathy.

Beyond understanding animal behavior, what are the potential future implications of prairie vole empathy research for human health?

Research on prairie voles holds significant implications for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of empathy in humans. By identifying the specific brain regions and neurotransmitters involved in empathic responses in prairie voles, it may be possible to develop novel treatments for social deficits associated with conditions like autism spectrum disorder and social anxiety. These treatments may target the Oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine regulation systems in humans to promote pro-social behavior.