Rat drivers

Sooner or later · 10-25-2019, 10:42 AM

https://www.salon.com/2019/10/24/rat-driving-car-study-stress/amp

While the mere act of rats learning to drive is indeed fascinating, what scientists discovered after the activity is even more interesting. Hormones indicated the rodents had lower stress levels than rats who hadn't been out joyriding. This finding could have wider implications for human mental health as well.....

Now of course, these weren't actually miniature mouse-mobiles the rats were driving in the study. Researchers at the University of Richmond in Virginia trained the six female rats and 11 male rats to navigate makeshift cars, which were made out of empty food containers. They were retrofitted with an aluminium floor and three copper bars to make a steering wheel that the rats could grasp with their paws. When the copper bars were touched by the rats' two front paws, it created an electrical circuit that powered the car, which could move in different directions. The rats were rewarded with Froot Loops when they moved the car forward....

Another finding from the study also indicated that rats who were passengers, those driven around in remote-controlled cars, had higher stress levels than those that drove themselves...