Lab rats have been trained to do all sorts of things, from running mazes and pushing levers to playing hide and seek. Now, a handful of rats have learned how to drive. - NBCNewsMACH
If humans often find driving stressful, the rats in the study seemed to benefit from the training. A chemical analysis of the animals' poop after four months of training sessions showed lower levels of the stress hormone corticosterone and higher levels of the stress-busting hormone dehydroepiandrosterone .
"We concluded that the rats that actually learned to drive had a greater sense of control over their environment that was accompanied by increased DHEA — something like a rodent version of what we refer to as self-efficacy or agency in humans," Lambert said in a statement. For the research, Lambert and her collaborators used a clear plastic food container to make the miniature car, complete with wheels, an aluminum floor and three copper bars that the rats used as a steering wheel. Several rats were trained within a so-called enriched environment, with access to toys, tiny ladders and pine cones. Several others received their training within a traditional enclosure.
A new study details an experiment conducted by researchers in the University of Richmond's Department of Psychology to investigate the effects of an enriched environment and training on emotional responses.Lambert said the rats in the enriched environment proved better at driving, while the rats in the traditional enclosure “barely made any progress” because their brains “were less engaged.”
“Being in an enriched environment had a positive effect on the mice — it allowed them to master a skill they otherwise wouldn’t have,” Lambert said. “Even after we stopped putting the Fruit Loops out to reward the mice, those in the enriched environment still had positive associations and were able to drive for four days after the experiment ended ... The study suggests that learning a new task and placing oneself in a stimulating environment can advance our health.
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