4. Tongue Pulling: The Game-Changer
Perhaps the most dramatic and effective intervention observed was tongue pulling. In about half of the studied cases, mice managed to grasp and pull the tongues of their anesthetized peers.
Remarkably, this behavior had a real physiological effect: it helped clear and expand the airway, resulting in a faster awakening from anesthesia.
This finding was highlighted in the original study published by Science, where researchers emphasized how such actions closely mimic fundamental lifesaving techniques.