Rats learn to drive small vehicles

In 2019, researchers from the University of Richmond, led by Kelly Lambert, trained eleven rats to drive small vehicles as part of a study published in Behavioural Brain Research. The experiment aimed to understand the influence of the living environment on learning.

Stimulating environment boosts engagement

The results showed that rats raised in a stimulating environment were more engaged in the activity and more inclined to take on the new challenge. This suggested that the complexity of their living conditions might influence their ability to learn new tasks.

Vehicle design and operation

The researchers built a small vehicle from a robotic car kit, topped with a transparent food box as a body. To operate the vehicle, the rats had to place their paws on an aluminum plate and grasp one of three copper bars in front of an opening.

Navigation and cognitive skills

Each bar controlled a direction—left, right, or straight. The rats had to navigate an arena one and a half meters long to reach a snack. Three sessions of five minutes per week, over eight weeks, were sufficient for them to master the vehicle.

Variable reward positions

The position of the reward and the starting point changed with each trial, revealing cognitive abilities. Among the eleven rats in the study, five had grown up in a large multi-level cage full of objects to explore. Some of the rats drove to retrieve food, while others appeared to drive for pleasure.