Mice Pass the Mirror Test — Not a Self-Knowledge Test
Whether an animal recognizes its own image surely has less to do with self-awareness than with the role that sight — as a sense — plays in its lifeResearchers reported this week in the journal Neuron that mice have passed the famous “mirror test” — recognizing themselves in a mirror — though only under certain conditions: Researchers report December 5 in the journal Neuron that mice display behavior that resembles self-recognition when they see themselves in the mirror. When the researchers marked the foreheads of black-furred mice with a spot of white ink, the mice spent more time grooming their heads in front of the mirror — presumably to try and wash away the ink spot. However, the mice only showed this self-recognition-like behavior if they were already accustomed to mirrors, if they had socialized with other mice who looked like them, and if the ink spot was Read More ›
