Forget teaching rats to run mazes. The rodents inside University of Richmond neuroscientist Kelly Lambert's laboratory are taught to drive cars. The racing rats are part of an investigation into how environments that are rich with toys, companions, and other stimulating stuff enhances neuroplasticity, how the brain adapts and reorganizes itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.
"We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container," Lambert writes in The Conversation. "After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal. Before long, they were steering with surprising precision to reach a Froot Loop treat."
From Lambert's research summary:
Unexpectedly, we found that the rats had an intense motivation for their driving training, often jumping into the car and revving the "lever engine" before their vehicle hit the road. Why was that?
…Behaviors associated with positive experiences are associated with joy in humans, but what about rats? Was I seeing something akin to joy in a rat? Maybe so, considering that neuroscience research is increasingly suggesting that joy and positive emotions play a critical role in the health of both human and nonhuman animals.
With that, my team and I shifted focus from topics such as how chronic stress influences brains to how positive events – and anticipation for these events – shape neural functions[…]
As animals – human or otherwise – navigate the unpredictability of life, anticipating positive experiences helps drive a persistence to keep searching for life's rewards. In a world of immediate gratification, these rats offer insights into the neural principles guiding everyday behavior. Rather than pushing buttons for instant rewards, they remind us that planning, anticipating and enjoying the ride may be key to a healthy brain. That's a lesson my lab rats have taught me well.
Previously:
• Rescue rats learn to drive tiny cars built just for them
• Passenger films 'super rat' scuttling across plane mid-flight from Dallas to LA (video)
• Unsettling pile of rats huddle together during rain
