Rats trained to drive tiny cars in pursuit of Froot Loops

Researchers successfully taught rats how to drive small cars in the pursuit of Froot Loops cereal. Video below. Psychologist Kelly Lambert and her colleagues at the University of Richmond conducted the experiment to gain insight into animal cognition. Learning to drive also lowered the rats' stress as measured by hormone levels. From New Scientist:

They constructed a tiny car out of a clear plastic food container on wheels, with an aluminium floor and three copper bars functioning as a steering wheel. When a rat stood on the aluminium floor and gripped the copper bars with their paws, they completed an electrical circuit that propelled the car forward. Touching the left, centre or right bar steered the car in different directions.

The ability of rats to drive these cars demonstrates the "neuroplasticity" of their brains, says Lambert. This refers to their ability to respond flexibly to novel challenges. "I do believe that rats are smarter than most people perceive them to be, and that most animals are smarter in unique ways than we think," she says.

Researchers could potentially replace traditional maze tests with more complex driving tasks when using rat models to study neuropsychiatric conditions, says Lambert. For example, driving tests could be used to probe the effects of Parkinson's disease on motor skills and spatial awareness, or the effects of depression on motivation, she says. "If we use more realistic and challenging models, it may provide more meaningful data," she says.

"Enriched Environment Exposure Accelerates Rodent Driving Skills" (Behavioral Brain Research)