• Home
  • Motorcycles
  • Electric Motorcycles
  • 3 wheelers
  • FUV Electric 3 wheeler
  • Shop
  • Listings

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from CycleNews about two, three wheelers and Electric vehicles.

What's Hot

Royal Enfield BTR Road Racing Road America Results, Coverage

Elon Musk’s Feud With President Trump Wipes $152 Billion Off Tesla’s Market Cap

Elon Musk Is Posting Through It

Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Home
  • Motorcycles
  • Electric Motorcycles
  • 3 wheelers
  • FUV Electric 3 wheeler
  • Shop
  • Listings
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
Cycle News
Submit Your Ad
Cycle News
You are at:Home » These Rats Learned to Drive—and They Love It
Electric Motorcycles

These Rats Learned to Drive—and They Love It

cycleBy cycleNovember 16, 202402 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email


THIS ARTICLE IS republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

We crafted our first rodent car from a plastic cereal container. After trial and error, my colleagues and I found that rats could learn to drive forward by grasping a small wire that acted like a gas pedal. Before long, they were steering with surprising precision to reach a Froot Loop treat.

As expected, rats housed in enriched environments—complete with toys, space, and companions—learned to drive faster than those in standard cages. This finding supported the idea that complex environments enhance neuroplasticity: the brain’s ability to change across the lifespan in response to environmental demands.

After we published our research, the story of driving rats went viral in the media. The project continues in my lab with new, improved rat-operated vehicles, or ROVs, designed by robotics professor John McManus and his students. These upgraded electrical ROVs—featuring ratproof wiring, indestructible tires, and ergonomic driving levers—are akin to a rodent version of Tesla’s Cybertruck.

As a neuroscientist who advocates for housing and testing laboratory animals in natural habitats, I’ve found it amusing to see how far we’ve strayed from my lab practices with this project. Rats typically prefer dirt, sticks, and rocks over plastic objects. Now, we had them driving cars.

But humans didn’t evolve to drive either. Although our ancient ancestors didn’t have cars, they had flexible brains that enabled them to acquire new skills—fire, language, stone tools, and agriculture. And some time after the invention of the wheel, humans made cars.

Although cars made for rats are far from anything they would encounter in the wild, we believed that driving represented an interesting way to study how rodents acquire new skills. Unexpectedly, we found that the rats had an intense motivation for their driving training, often jumping into the car and revving the “lever engine” before their vehicle hit the road. Why was that?

The New Destination of Joy

Concepts from introductory psychology textbooks took on a new, hands-on dimension in our rodent driving laboratory. Building on foundational learning approaches such as operant conditioning, which reinforces targeted behavior through strategic incentives, we trained the rats step-by-step in their driver’s ed programs.

Initially, they learned basic movements, such as climbing into the car and pressing a lever. But with practice, these simple actions evolved into more complex behaviors, such as steering the car toward a specific destination.



Source link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleJubileeTV Review: Video Calls and Remote Support for Elders
Next Article Bitfinex Hacker Gets 5 Years for $10 Billion Bitcoin Heist
cycle
  • Website

Related Posts

Elon Musk’s Feud With President Trump Wipes $152 Billion Off Tesla’s Market Cap

June 5, 2025

Elon Musk Is Posting Through It

June 5, 2025

Ross Ulbricht Got a $31 Million Donation From a Dark Web Dealer, Crypto Tracers Suspect

June 5, 2025
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Demo
Top Posts

Royal Enfield BTR Road Racing Road America Results, Coverage

June 5, 2025

The urban electric commuter FUELL Fllow designed by Erik Buell is now opening orders | thepack.news | THE PACK

July 29, 2023

2024 Yamaha Ténéré 700 First Look [6 Fast Facts For ADV Riding]

July 29, 2023
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • WhatsApp
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Latest Reviews

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news from FooBar about tech, design and biz.

Demo
Most Popular

Royal Enfield BTR Road Racing Road America Results, Coverage

June 5, 2025

The urban electric commuter FUELL Fllow designed by Erik Buell is now opening orders | thepack.news | THE PACK

July 29, 2023

2024 Yamaha Ténéré 700 First Look [6 Fast Facts For ADV Riding]

July 29, 2023
Our Picks

Toyota Crown Sport Debuts as Sleek Hybrid SUV

KTM Announces 2024 990 Duke « MotorcycleDaily.com – Motorcycle News, Editorials, Product Reviews and Bike Reviews

The Northern Lights Could Be Visible Across the US Thanks to a Rare Solar Storm

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest news from CycleNews about two, three wheelers and Electric vehicles.

© 2025 cyclenews.blog
  • Home
  • About us
  • Get In Touch
  • Shop
  • Listings
  • My Account
  • Submit Your Ad
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Stock Ticker

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.