Scientists' Mouse Fight Club

An anonymous reader writes "To study how aggression, fighting, and winning change the brain, scientists set up a tournament of mice fights. They watched as the lab rodents took a break from their hum-drum existence and battled it out (however, the researchers broke the first rule of Fight Club by publishing a paper about their findings [abstract]). They found clear evidence of the 'winner effect,' in which a mouse that has just won a fight maintains elevated levels of testosterone and aggression, and is therefore more likely to win the next bout. Interestingly, the winner effect was strongest in mice that were fighting in their own cages — i.e., those that had home-field advantage."

Re:Women...

[Have Brain Will Rent]

I think it would do society some good to take the blinders off and have a look at female aggression and it's consequences...

Re:Isn't this illegal?

[zero_out]

It really depends on what is meant by "fighting." The fight could be similar to high school wrestling matches, or it could be lethal. I'm not well versed in the fighting techniques or habits of mice. The article doesn't go into much detail, and the full text paper is hidden behind a sign in page.

However, cock fights usually result in maiming, and sometimes death. Besides, those are conducted for amusement. Though some may disagree, most would agree it's one thing to harm or kill an animal for a reasonable purpose (research, food, etc.), but it's another to kill for amusement.

Re:Women...

[Have Brain Will Rent]

However there's no cause to single out genders/races/ages/etc. because such categories only go so far in explaining what are ultimately individual motivations.

Since women appear to manifest aggression in very different ways than men (although increasingly exactly like men as an additional mode) it seems like a very worthwhile to single out the genders. For one thing female aggression largely goes unnoticed (or just plain denied) by society and consequently their victims are usually unnoticed as well.

Re:the romans did this with prisoners / gladiators

[ElectricTurtle]

Because Christianity castrated Western Civilization to the point where people are now afraid that losing might hurt somebody's self esteem. Used to be we could stomach where losing meant disembowelment (stomach! that's a pun!). There are gains to this attitude, such as the end of slavery and the enfranchisement of women, but the pendulum has swung so far we teach our kids to be afraid of their own shadows and every little pin-prick is treated like somebody just lost a limb.

Re:Women...

[Aboroth]

No kidding. In general when a man gets pissed at you, he lets you know, and maybe hits you or yells at you, but in the end you work it out. On the other hand when a typical woman gets pissed at you, you had better watch out. She probably won't tell you, and instead will use psychological methods to tear you apart from the inside in an attempt to completely ruin you and leave you a quivering shell of a man. Women are vicious. Men are so much easier to deal with because they bring problems out in the open. Most girls I have dated have said proudly that they think like guys, and don't act the way most women do (as I explained earlier). But guess what? They still do it, just not as often.

Re:Women...

[MozeeToby]

In all seriousness, why is this modded as funny? Twenty percent of reported domestic abusers are female, despite the fact that a man is less likely to turn in his wife and that the police are less likely to take the case seriously due to cultural effects. Some studies have even shown that female on male spousal abuse is the more common form, though it is less physically damaging. Mothers abuse children more frequently than fathers, physical confrontations in schools are becoming increasingly perpetrated by females, and all of that says nothing to the more traditional forms of psychological and emotional aggressiveness practiced by many women.

Re:Women...

[Have Brain Will Rent]

You're very right - the fact that it gets modded funny is tellingly symptomatic of the problem. Let's end the denial and take the blinders off for the sake of all. We could start by asking why the media (or the audience) considers it "funny" for a woman to kick a man in the genitals? Or just haul of and slap/punch him - with complete impunity. Even when it is clearly painful for the recipient it is somehow supposed to be funny. It's ok for women to lose control and hit - right? Because that is the message and very few people seem to see a problem with that.

Why abuse mice, humans would volunteer

[marcobat]

Scientists should have simply walked to the nearest stadium.

Re:Who is this Pragler idiot?

[NotBornYesterday]

The distinction is an important one, because unlike rhubarb patches, violence can be for moral or immoral purposes.

Re:Second Rule?

[h4rr4r]

Considering they will tear each other apart I really see nothing funny about it. You probably should seek mental help, many serial killers started out torturing animals for amusement.

Re:Women...

[Aboroth]

Oh and also women who do that are typically very bad at conflict resolution. And I mean actual conflict resolution, not "let it fester under the surface for a while then let it explode out when I'm in attack mode".