This article Republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
We made our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. Through trial and error, my colleagues and I discovered that rats can learn to move forward by squeezing a small wire that acts like a gas pedal. Eventually, they maneuvered with amazing precision and reached the Flute Loop treat.
As expected, rats raised in enriched environments with toys, space, and companions learned to drive faster than rats kept in standard cages. The findings supported the idea that complex environments enhance neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change throughout life in response to environmental demands.
After we published our research, stories about getting rid of the rats spread rapidly in the media. In my lab, a project continues on a new and improved rat-operated vehicle (ROV) designed by robotics professor John McManus and his students. These upgraded electric ROVs feature rodent-proof wiring, unbreakable tires, and ergonomic driving levers, resembling a rodent version of Tesla’s Cybertruck.
As a neuroscientist who advocates raising and experimenting on laboratory animals in their natural habitat, I found it interesting to see how much we deviated from our own laboratory practices with this project. . Rats usually prefer dirt, sticks, and stones to plastic objects. Well, we let them drive the car.
However, humans did not evolve to drive cars either. Our ancient ancestors didn’t have cars, but they had flexible brains that could learn new skills like fire, language, stone tools, and agriculture. Shortly after the invention of the wheel, humans created cars.
Although cars built for rats are a far cry from what rats would encounter in the wild, we think driving is an interesting way to study how rodents acquire new skills. I did. Unexpectedly, rats were found to have a strong motivation for driving training, often jumping into cars and revving the “lever engine” before the car hit the road. Why?
A new destination for joy
A concept from an introductory psychology textbook takes on a new practical dimension in the rodent driving laboratory. We trained rats in a step-by-step driver education program based on basic learning approaches such as operant conditioning that reinforces target behaviors through strategic incentives.
At first, we learned basic movements such as getting into a car and pushing levers. However, with practice, these simple actions evolved into more complex actions, such as steering a car toward a specific destination.
