The mouse is not afraid of cats

The team of researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Monterotondo (Italy) discovered areas in the mouse brain that are responsible for controlling mechanisms that appear to behave in case they encounter danger. Scientists believe that the results of the study will be used to find ways to combat stress for humans.

When affected by certain areas of the brain, mice will not feel afraid of cats as usual.(Photo: Internet).

One of the experiments scientists have done is to block the electrical activity of neurons. This has led to fundamentally changing the behavioral strategy of animals when there is fear. Specifically, the mouse's instinct is to be afraid of cats, when suddenly hearing the sound of cats, they seem to be dumbfounded, standing in place, trembling, waiting to die.

But the mice that were influenced by Italian scientists on the " fear zone " on the brain did not shrink like that. On the contrary, they heard the sound of a cat, not only "not fainting " or running but they were very calm, stopping, standing on their hind legs, looking around to see where the cat was.

" While still afraid of cats, our mice have moved from passive strategies to proactive strategies to cope with the dangers . The behavior change made us completely surprised ," said Professor Gross. The head of the research program said.

The authors of the paper argue that active or passive behavior against fear is also a characteristic of people, so if one understands how to control behavior, it is easy to deal with all circumstances. in daily life without being afraid of falling into the current stress situation.