The Scientist Who Taught Rats to Drive Confessed Why She Did It (And She Had a Good Reason)

In 2019, a group of neuroscientists from University of Richmond They decided to make machines for rodents and teach rats to drive a car. His research went viral for obvious reasons. It was amazing to watch these little animals ride in their makeshift vehicles with plastic jugs towards the sweet rewards that awaited them in different parts of the laboratory.

Then they already explained why it was decided to teach rats to drive a car. On the one hand, we wanted to understand how the brain is affected complex tasks and, on the other hand, to check whether its permission affects the state of mind. In addition, this was a unique opportunity to study learning mechanisms in rodents.

This was the original purpose of the investigation. However, the main author of this study, Kelly Lambertnow explained in an article for Talk what were their motives and what discoveries they made subsequently. Because on the Internet we are left with a beautiful image of some rats driving. Then the global pandemic forced us to look online for other things, but the work of these scientists did not stop and their subsequent findings turned out to be very interesting.

Teaching rats to drive a car isn’t that hard

In general, learning experiments with rodents are always the same. They usually involve walking inside labyrinth find a reward in the form of food. Lambert and his team found it too simple. It would be fun to add some extra complexity to your animals’ work. And what is this task that drives many people crazy until we master it? Really, learn to drive a car.

The first step in teaching rats to drive was to create some special cars for them. They consisted of wheels attached to an aluminum plate under the container in which the animal was placed. Inside were three sticks that were used to help the rats move forward, left, or right by leaning on them.

First, rats with strollers were placed on a sandy surface, along which several handfuls of sand were moved. Froot Loops cereal. The reward was moved to prevent the rodents from accidentally reaching it. And they clearly didn’t, because as they progressed through the training, they got to the croup much faster.

The moment came when they themselves quickly jumped into the car to look for a reward, even when the situation changed. They just needed a car to get to food.

The first benefits were quickly noticed

This study tested how brain plasticity This allowed the rats to learn to drive a car. But he also provided other interesting data. For example, that rodents, having overcome the test, They were very relaxed behind the wheel.. They saw this by measuring cortisol levelhormone associated with stress. They decreased significantly after some driving. They tried to put the rats of the co-pilot in the carriage, but only those who were driving relaxed. Maybe it’s because it was happy with the training. This is what happens to us humans too. Pride in overcoming difficulties. Like when you make your L drive a car.

What happened after rats were taught to drive a car?

Lambert and his team continued their research, although he was away for some time. support due to the pandemic. Their next step, as they already explained then, was to study brain areas participate in this learning and, in turn, use this knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of human diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

But they saw something else. In his article for TalkLambert explains that one day in 2020, he walked into the lab and saw one of the rats jump nervously towards the cage door. It reminded her of her dog’s enthusiasm when he wants to go for a walk. And imagine his surprise when he discovered that all the rats that could drive a car had the same behavior. The rest don’t.

This made her ask herself a question. Can expectation Does this stress-relieving habit create a feeling similar to joy? She and her team planned to focus the rest of their research on how chronic stress affects the brain. However, he decided to change things up a bit and study how positive events and their anticipation form neuron functions. This can also be extrapolated to the study of the human brain.

To do this, they developed a new experiment. This time they didn’t have to teach the rats to drive. They were simply given rewards after completing certain tasks. In the control group they were given a reward immediatelyand in the experimental room I had to wait 15 minutes. Thus, it was seen that those who had to wait, but understood that they would receive a reward, showed a change in behavior. from pessimist to optimist. Additionally, their cognitive abilities improved when it came to problem solving.

They got a dose of dopamine

As if all this wasn’t exciting, there was still a lot to learn. A student from Lambert’s group discovered that rats in the waiting group folded their tails into special posewith a slight twist at the end. No one in their group knew what it was, so they shared photos with some colleagues until they discovered that this effect occurs in rodents when they are exposed to high dopamine levels. So even though they hadn’t yet received their reward in the form of the sugary cereal, these rats’ brains were already sending them that good feeling.

In short, teaching rats to drive a car had a much larger purpose than originally thought. It was good experimentbut it also had, has and will have great scientific value. Driving lessons have never been so useful.