狒狒的笑会传染？

最近科学家通过在德国动物园观察研究狮尾狒之间的嬉戏互动后，发现所有年龄段的狮尾狒能在看到同伴笑脸后，短时间内模仿其脸部表情，难道狮尾狒也能共享笑脸和其他面部表情可以共享？

其实早在2008年，英国朴次茅斯大学心理学系的玛丽娜·罗斯博士从世界4个灵长类动物中心挑选了25只年龄在2岁到12岁之间的红猩猩，并对它们的面部表情进行了研究。

罗斯发现，当一只红猩猩张开嘴巴时(相当于人类的笑脸)，其他猩猩往往会在半秒钟内呈现出相同的表情。这表明它们是在不自觉的情况下进行模仿。罗斯在研究报告中指出，对同类正面情绪的理解和认同能力，即移情作用或可传染的“笑”早在人类之前就出现了。研究也表明了感受能力对群居动物的重要性。

看来，还需要科学家们更多的研究才能判断狒狒是否能共享其它情绪状态。

原文摘要：

Rapid Facial Mimicry In Geladas

Giada Mancini, Pier Francesco Ferrari & Elisabetta Palagi

Rapid facial mimicry (RFM) is an automatic response, in which individuals mimic others' expressions. RFM, only demonstrated in humans and apes, is grounded in the automatic perception-action coupling of sensorimotor information occurring in the mirror neuron system. In humans, RFM seems to reflect the capacity of individuals to empathize with others. Here, we demonstrated that, during play, RFM is also present in a cercopithecoid species (Theropithecus gelada). Mother-infant play sessions were not only characterized by the highest levels of RFM, but also by the fastest responses. Our findings suggest that RFM in humans have homologous not only in apes, but also in cercopitecoids. Moreover, data point to similarities in the modality in which mother-infant synchronous behaviours are expressed among primates, suggesting a common evolutionary root in the basic elements of mother-infant affective exchanges.

ScienceShot: Monkey Smiles Are Contagious

Believe it or not, the gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada) on the right may be sharing a good laugh—and possibly the emotions that go along with it. Previously, only humans and orangutans had been shown to quickly and involuntarily mimic the facial expressions of their companions, an ability that seems to be linked to empathy. After spending months observing every playful interaction among the gelada population at Germany's NaturZoo, scientists are ready to add another, more distantly related species to that list. Geladas of all ages were more likely to mimic the play faces of their companions within 1 second of seeing them than they were to respond with a different kind of expression, according to a paper published by the team this week in Scientific Reports. What's more, the fastest and most frequent mimicry responses occurred between mothers and their infant offspring, like the pair pictured on the left. More research is required to determine if geladas are sharing emotional states in addition to facial expressions, but the team suggests that studying the quantity and quality of these mother-child interactions could provide a way forward.

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