Rats That Drive Are Joyous! – CleanTechnica

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In these times that cause many of us to worry, it’s fun to have a story that gives us a chuckle. So have you heard the one about the rats that drive? They’re so delighted by the experience that they drive a longer route so they can enjoy the trip for as long as possible!

Here’s the equation. Take a plastic cereal container and craft it into a rodent car. Go through a whole bunch of trials and errors. Finagle a small wire that acts as an accelerator pedal. Reinforce targeted behavior through operant learning strategic incentives: a Froot Loop at the end of the course.

If the rats figured out how to drive and steer, they would get a reward.

The result? “Before long, they were steering with surprising precision,” says neuroscientist Kelly Lambert, lead author of the research study at the University of Richmond.

The rats unexpectedly also taught the researchers a “profound” lesson.

Not only did the group of seventeen rats learn how to drive the little plastic cars — the rats genuinely enjoyed and came to eagerly anticipate getting behind the wheel.

“We found that the rats had an intense motivation for their driving training,” Lambert described, “often jumping into the car and revving the ‘lever engine’ before their vehicle hit the road.”`

The Experiment: What Rats That Drive Tell Researchers About Active Engagement

The authors had anticipated that, even though driving was an activity significantly removed from the wild, it would open a window of understanding about how rats acquire new skills.

The rat mobile was constructed of a copper wire threaded horizontally across a plastic jar, which became its cab. The unit formed three bars: left, right, and center. A rat would sit on the aluminum plate and touch the copper wire; the circuitry would allow the rat to select the direction in which it wanted to travel.

The the researchers trained the rats, step-by-step, in their “driver’s ed programs.” Initially, Lambert explained, they learned basic movements, such as climbing into the car and pressing a lever. “But with practice, these simple actions evolved into more complex behaviors such as steering the car toward a specific destination.”

It took months, but the rats did learn to make the tiny vehicle move and change direction.

The story doesn’t end with the initial experimental conditions. The project continues with new, improved rat-operated vehicles, or ROVs. The upgraded electrical ROVs come with a variety of accentuated features like rat-proof wiring, indestructible tires, and ergonomic driving levers.

Think Tesla Cybertruck for the littlest fans. Lambert found that the experiment challenged previously-held notions about replicating animals’ natural habitats as part of research integrity.

“As a neuroscientist who advocates for housing and testing laboratory animals in natural habitats, I’ve found it amusing to see how far we’ve strayed from my lab practices with this project. Rats typically prefer dirt, sticks, and rocks over plastic objects. Now, we had them driving cars.”

Human evolution didn’t involve driving, though, did it? Humans used flexible brains to acquire new skills like making fire, communicating with language, easing tasks with stone tools, and securing food supplies with agriculture. It was only after a great deal of time on Earth that the invention of the wheel introduced another possibility: cars.

The UofR authors have concluded that more complex environments enhance “neuroplasticity,” or the brain’s ability to change across the lifespan in response to environmental demands. In the experimental conditions, certain rats performed better than others. Those rats that were housed in “enriched environments — complete with toys, space, and companions” took to driving faster than rats who were separated in standard laboratory cages.

Entering the lab in the morning, Lambert noticed unusual behaviors from the three driving-trained rats. “They eagerly ran to the side of the cage, jumping up like my dog does when asked if he wants to take a walk.” These rats seemed to be expressing “excitement and anticipation,” similar to the joy that positive experiences trigger in humans.

The neuroscientific team realized they were looking at how anticipation for beneficial events and the events themselves shape neural functions. The finding supported neuroscience research that suggests that joy and positive emotions play a critical role in the health of both human and nonhuman animals.

Recognizing that they couldn’t directly ask rats whether they like to drive, the research team devised a behavioral test to assess their motivation to drive. Instead of only giving rats the option of driving to the Froot Loop Tree, they could also make a shorter journey by paw. But driving seemed to be nearly as much fun as eating a Froot Loop for two of the three rats, who chose to take the less efficient path of turning away from the reward and running to the car to drive to their Froot Loop destination.

At times the researchers set up cues that the driving would start in a few minutes, but the rats would have to patiently wait. Preliminary results of brain monitoring suggest rats forced to wait for rewards “show signs of shifting from a pessimistic cognitive style to an optimistic one” and “performed better on cognitive tasks and were bolder in their problem-solving strategies” compared to a control group of rats who received their rewards instantly, Lambert stated.

This response suggests that the rats enjoy both the journey and the rewarding destination.

To verify their observations, the researchers collected the rats’ feces to test for the stress hormone, corticosterone, and the anti-stress hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone.  All of the rats had higher levels of dehydroepiandrosterone, which the scientists believe could be linked to the satisfaction of having learned a new skill.

Lambert says that the findings could prove useful for future research into treatments for different psychiatric conditions. “I think we need to look at different animal models and different types of tasks and really respect that behavior can change our neurochemistry,” she concluded.

The Psychology Of Driving — For Humans & Rats

What does the rats-that-drive experiment tell us about our own human capacity for engagement and intrigue, for anticipation and engagement?

Humans love to drive for a variety of reasons. A sense of freedom and independence. A time for privacy and quiet reflection. The speed, the acceleration. A simple trip as pleasure with no motivation other than a beautiful day and sightseeing. Love of the open road.

We touch the steering wheel, and our hands — which have been called “intelligent” and a human’s “outer brain” — signal to us a sense of relaxation and euphoria. The sense of touch is fundamental to the way humans operate in the world. Being able to physically maneuver an object is a form of control, and being able to control a target is the first step in feelings of ownership. Touch confers the feeling that something is “mine,” which is known as “psychological ownership.”

Driving can also be onerous. It’s a constantly changing activity with irregular navigation patterns. It requires processing of multiple motor-sensory inputs and high levels of alertness to unpredictable stimuli. In the real world of roads — as opposed to the artificial parameters of a laboratory — drivers must keep a car within the boundaries of a road lane, at a safe distance from the car ahead, and at a reliable speed in relation to the surrounding traffic.

As the researchers observed their rats that drive, it became evident that “desirable low-stress rat environments retune their brains’ reward circuits, such as the nucleus accumbens.” Animals that are housed in their favored environments have areas of the nucleus accumbens with expanded response to appetitive experiences. Alternatively, when rats are housed in stressful contexts, the fear-generating zones of their nucleus accumbens expand.

So the driving we love is associated with the wind-in-our-hair, open road, feelings of freedom, and relaxation. They’re low stress and highly rewarding. The unpredictability of life inspires humans and animals to anticipate positive experiences and an ongoing search for life’s rewards. Driving and other positive experiences shape the brain in significant ways.  “In a world of immediate gratification,” Lamberts relates, “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.”

The research was published in the journal Behavioural Brain Research.