The Laughing Rat (Rattus norvegicus) "The lower animals are excited by the same emotions as ourselves".

Charles Darwin (1965) Rats, alongside other rodents used in laboratory experimentations, are seen as having a lack of emotional stigma especially when compared against the use of primates in scientific research. According to statistics given by the Research Defensive Society in 2007, rodents including rats, mice and other rodent species, accounted for 83% of scientific procedures. Historically, many scientists have ignored the possibility that animals are capable of anthropomorphic entities and are still raising a debate as this could have the potential to change how animals are used within laboratories. Little scientists choose to argue whether rats have a more complex ethical requirement, however Dr Jaak Panksepp and colleagues at Bowling Green State University has investigated neuroevolutionary sources of laughter and social joy: modelling primal human laughter in laboratory rats and one of the aims of his ongoing study is to investigate the controversial issue for behavioural scientists to consider the possibility that animals do express emotions that regulate their behaviour. Charles Darwin publications, back in the 1980s were denounced by many scientists for claiming that human beings were essentially highly developed animals. However to date, growing interests of studying emotion systems through vocalisations in animals is thought to be currently one of the most effective methods. Philosopher David DeGrazie (1996) stated that the path to the ethical treatment of animals runs through their minds. Studies have now emphasized that rats can communicate to one another through different ultrasound frequencies. Rats are generally known to exhibit three distinctive types of ultrasonic vocalisations which include: isolation calls from infants (around 40-kHz), a distressing situation for example a shock given or social defeat (around 20-kHz) and during sex, aggression and play (around 50-kHz). The ultrasonic sounds are audible through special equipment. It was first discovered by Brian Knutson (mid 1990s) that a play-induced 50-kHz chirping by young juvenile laboratory rats was expressed through a play state. It was also observed that when aversive drugs had been given, the rats expressed a 22-kHz ultrasonic sound. The previous shows that 50-kHz and 22-kHz can be used as indictors of positive and negative changes. Despite aggression producing the same ultrasonic sound as play state, the vocalisations rates during play, sexual behaviour and tickling are much higher than they are during aggression. Since then, strategies such as tickling have been carried out on rats to see whether a similar chirping response occurs. Panksepp also noted in later studies, that rats housed near predators or are frequently punished makes the tickling response less effective and concluded that physical stimulation is essential for positive responses. Hand play, such as tickling has been observed to provoke a chirping response and can encourage a more playful behaviour

expressed by the rat. This response can not only be useful to the housing and handling of laboratory but also should be passed down to a pet owner. There is importance in understanding the play; joy and laughter expressed by rats and the separation process which can affect the animals welfare. Laboratory rats and other rodent species have been overlooked in scientific research of emotions that they may be able to express. It is well known that an animals physical health and immune system function are strongly influenced by the animals mental state, which plays a role in effective animal management healthcare. Scientific research has improved the lives of many people and animals, and should continue to do so. However, models used for procedures are certainly overlooked due to historical thoughts and lack of knowledge known about animal emotions. Science research is vastly developing and improving, and should now be tackling animal emotional health. Rats can experience a vocal response which shows that it is not limited to just primate species. Although some still regard laughter as a uniquely human trait, honed in the Pleistocene, the jokes on them, quoted by Dr Jaak Panksepp.

Bibliography Internet website: http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/what-happens-when-you-tickle-a-rat-see-foryourself/ Journals: Neuroevolutionary sources of laughter and social joy: Modelling primal human laughter in laboratory rats (2007) Laughing rats and the evolutionary antecedents of human joy? (2003) 50-kHz chirping (laughter?) in response to conditioned and unconditioned tickle-induced reward in rats: effects of social housing and genetic variables (2000) Anticipation of Play Elicits High-Frequency Ultrasonic Vocalizations in Young Rats (1998) Books: The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin What Animals Want by Larry Carbone