37 votes

I’m a neuroscientist who taught rats to drive − their joy suggests how anticipating fun can enrich human life

Posted by umlautsuser123
Tags: science, neuroscience, rats, joy, fun, author.kelly lambert, source.the conversation
https://theconversation.com/im-a-neuroscientist-who-taught-rats-to-drive-their-joy-suggests-how-anticipating-fun-can-enrich-human-life-239029

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Authors
Kelly Lambert
Published
Nov 11 2024
Word count
1483 words

3 comments

  1. [2]
    umlautsuser123
    Link
    Thought I'd share this as it's a cute read. I highlighted select parts, but I enjoyed reading it all. What's everyone looking forward to this week?

    Thought I'd share this as it's a cute read. I highlighted select parts, but I enjoyed reading it all. What's everyone looking forward to this week?

    ... I designed a new protocol that used waiting periods to ramp up anticipation before a positive event. Bringing Pavlovian conditioning into the mix, rats had to wait 15 minutes after a Lego block was placed in their cage before they received a Froot Loop. They also had to wait in their transport cage for a few minutes before entering Rat Park, their play area. We also added challenges, such as making them shell sunflower seeds before eating.

    ... We dubbed this new line of study UPERs – unpredictable positive experience responses – where rats were trained to wait for rewards. In contrast, control rats received their rewards immediately. ...

    Preliminary results suggest that rats required to wait for their rewards show signs of shifting from a pessimistic cognitive style to an optimistic one in a test designed to measure rodent optimism. They performed better on cognitive tasks and were bolder in their problem-solving strategies. We linked this program to our lab’s broader interest in behaviorceuticals, a term I coined to suggest that experiences can alter brain chemistry similarly to pharmaceuticals.
    ...
    Research has also shown that desirable low-stress rat environments retune their brains’ reward circuits, such as the nucleus accumbens. When animals are housed in their favored environments, the area of the nucleus accumbens that responds to appetitive experiences expands.

    16 votes
    1. sparksbet
      Link Parent
      This is adorable, but I'm also desperate to know how one designs a test to measure rodent optimism. That seems like a tough thing to do to me (though I suppose I had it easy when I was a student...

      This is adorable, but I'm also desperate to know how one designs a test to measure rodent optimism. That seems like a tough thing to do to me (though I suppose I had it easy when I was a student researcher, as I was only ever designing studies for human participants).

      11 votes
  2. kai_re
    Link
    This was a really fun read. I particularly liked the descriptions of "happy" rat behavior. This reminds me of my cat. Randomly, I'll hold a new toy or something delicious behind my back and tell...

    This was a really fun read. I particularly liked the descriptions of "happy" rat behavior.

    When I walked into the lab, I noticed something unusual: The three driving-trained rats eagerly ran to the side of the cage, jumping up like my dog does when asked if he wants to take a walk.

    Had the rats always done this and I just hadn’t noticed? Were they just eager for a Froot Loop, or anticipating the drive itself? Whatever the case, they appeared to be feeling something positive – perhaps excitement and anticipation.

    This reminds me of my cat. Randomly, I'll hold a new toy or something delicious behind my back and tell him I've got a gift for him with a specific phrase and tone. He'll get really excited in anticipation of receiving something unknown but he knows it'll be good. It's just a way to bring more joy into his life and mine because it's so cute. As someone with an amount of anhedonia, this article is very encouraging and reminds me to create more things to look forward to, or try to think about anticipating the good things instead of thinking about negative consequences which leads me towards avoidance and feeling dread.

    I also found the following really interesting!

    One day, a student noticed something strange: One of the rats in the group trained to expect positive experiences had its tail straight up with a crook at the end, resembling the handle of an old-fashioned umbrella.

    Curious, I posted a picture of the behavior on social media. Fellow neuroscientists identified this as a gentler form of what’s called Straub tail, typically seen in rats given the opioid morphine. This S-shaped curl is also linked to dopamine. When dopamine is blocked, the Straub tail behavior subsides.

    3 votes