If you are struggling to pass your driving test, you've just been beaten to the freedom of the open road by laboratory rats.
US scientists say they have successfully trained a group of the rodents to drive tiny cars in exchange for food.
While the study itself demonstrates how sophisticated rat brains are, the biggest surprise is the rodents found the task relaxing. So much for supposed rat race, then.
Senior author Kelly Lambert of the University of Richmond wanted to explore how the brain changes in response to experience and challenges.
“My students have been interested in using some of our old fashioned behavioral principles to train the rats, and we're interested in how they can use the car as a tool to navigate the environment," she said.
The team modified a robotic car by adding a clear plastic food container to form a driver compartment with an aluminum plate placed on the bottom. A copper wire was threaded to form three directional bars: left, centre and right.
When a rat placed itself on the aluminum floor and touched the wire, the circuit was complete and the car moved in the direction selected. Seventeen rats were trained over several months.
Prof Lambert said the rats were tested for the stress hormone corticosterone as well as dehydroepiandrosterone, which counters stress.
"In our lab, we focus on neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to change throughout time in healthy ways; additionally, we investigate the negative impact of chronic stress and how it compromises mental health. We want to identify healthy coping strategies to minimise the negative impact of chronic stress.”
All trained rats had higher levels dehydroepiandrosterone, indicating a more relaxed state, which could be linked to the satisfaction of gaining mastery over a new skill.
Prof Lambert said the research could one day help in developing new non-pharmaceutical forms of treatment for mental illness.
"There's no cure for schizophrenia or depression. We're behind," she said. "We need to catch up and I think we need to look at different animal models and different types of tasks and really respect that behaviour can change our neurochemistry."
