Scientists are teaching rats how to drive in tiny cars
A team of researchers at the University of Richmond have implemented an experiment to gain an understanding of how learning complex tasks affects mental health. The In the Know video above displays how the test was executed using rodents.
Professor of behavioral neuroscience Kelly Lambert and her colleagues made a tiny car out of food containers. The makeshift car was equipped with a copper steering wheel and aluminum flooring to create electrical currents to push the card forward.
What gave the rats incentive to actually drive in the right direction? Froot loops!
"They learned to navigate the car in unique ways and engaged in steering patterns they had never used to eventually arrive at the reward," says Lambert in a University of Richmond press release.
Watch the In the Know video above to see what they learned from the study.
