Rats Can Drive Tiny Cars, And Driving Makes Them Happy!

Have you ever think of a rat driving a car? Your age-old question now becomes more transparent as the answer resounds a "yes". Even more, the vermin seems to find a lot relaxing.

At the Univ. of Richmond in Virginia, a team of researchers has built a rat mobile created from a plastic food container. Like other vehicle prototypes, the battery-powered design also features four wheels as well as a steering wheel made with aluminum and copper materials. In the experiments, rats were able to stand on the floor, grip the steering wheel by their paws and make the car move forward. As reported, a total of 11 male and six female rats successfully drove the car to a pen then got the cereal rewards.

Neuroscientist Kelly Lambert and her team were aware of rats' abilities, but they conducted such experiments to discover more about rats with more sophisticated tasks. Amazingly, every rat had unique ways to navigate the car to the target.

What's more, the experiment gave positive effects on rats' mentality as they find it a relaxing time. All the related hormone levels measured during the tests indicated that their stress was decreased when learning to drive. Lambert added that the ability of the rat in the experiments depends on the environment they lived, considering species living in complex, stimulating conditions were faster than ones from a dreary laboratory. In fact, rats were also felt less stressed when being a driver, rather than a passenger.

Following that, researchers will experience more tests to knowledge the way rats learned to drive and their biological reactions mentioned above.