@article{ref1,
title="Silence resulting from the cessation of movement signals danger",
journal="Current biology",
year="2012",
author="Pereira, Ana G. and Cruz, Andreia and Lima, Susana Q. and Moita, Marta A.",
volume="22",
number="16",
pages="R627-8",
abstract="Most of what we know about the neural basis of fear has been unravelled by studies using associative fear learning [1]. However, many animal species are able to use social cues to recognize threats [2,3], a defence mechanism that may be less costly than learning from self-experience. Most studies in the field have focused on species-specific signals, such as alarm calls or pheromones, remaining unclear whether more generic cues can mediate this process. Here we report that rats perceive the cessation of movement-evoked sound as a signal of danger and its resumption as a signal of safety. To study transmission of fear between rats we assessed the behavior of an observer while witnessing a demonstrator cage-mate display fear responses. Having tested a multitude of cues, we found that observer rats respond to an auditory cue which signals the sudden immobility of the demonstrator rat - the cessation of the sound of motion. As freezing is a pervasive fear response in animals [4,5], silence may constitute a truly public cue used by a variety of animals in the ecosystem to detect impeding danger.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0960-9822",
doi="10.1016/j.cub.2012.06.015",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.06.015"
}