What Rats Learning To Drive Cars Can Teach Us About Human Happiness

If you haven’t already seen the video of rats driving a rodent-sized version of a Cybertruck, you need to hurry up and open YouTube. While it may seem like a scene from a video game—it’s real. Neuroscientists have taught rats how to drive.

The neuroscientists had rats piloting a rodent-sized car by grasping a small wire that acted as a gas pedal. These rats would then drive through their housing environment towards a Froot Loop treat.

The findings from this research are ground-breaking for many reasons. Beyond just finding out whether animals can be taught to drive cars—it reveals how important enriched environments can be, how joy can impact brain development, and the power of operant conditioning.

In the rat driving experiments, the anticipation of the sugary Froot Loop treat motivated them to engage in the driving activities. This type of operant conditioning can be translated into a human experience and be useful beyond just the laboratory.

For example, let’s say you’re enrolled in BSN to MSN NP programs. Students often experience a sense of anticipation and excitement about achieving their advanced degrees and subsequent career advancements. This anticipation acts as a powerful motivator, enhancing their overall sense of well-being and happiness.

Research findings

The rat driving experiment was about more than whether animals can learn how to drive. It revealed how enriched environments can enhance neuroplasticity and how joy and positive emotions play a critical role in health.

The rats were trained to drive through an operant conditioning approach. The researchers reinforced targeted behavior through strategic incentives. Initially, it started with learning basic movements like getting into the car.

Afterward, the rats moved on from simple actions to more complex behavior like learning to steer the car toward a specific destination. The big question was eventually—were the rats just eager for the Froot Loop treat or were they also getting joy from the anticipation?

Rat tails and anticipation

One of the researchers posted a picture of one of the rats from the experiment on social media. It featured a rat between experiments with its tail stretched into the air. Like other animals, a rat’s tail can indicate the emotion they’re feeling.

Fellow neuroscientists responded to the posted photo, identifying that the rat was expressing a gentler form of Straub tail. Straub tail is a phenomenon that typically happens when a rat is given opioid morphine and is also linked to dopamine.

The Straub-like tail suggests that the rats enjoyed the anticipation and the act of driving. This is further supported by the fact that when researchers would give the rats the option to drive or run to the Froot Loop treat—two out of three rats chose driving, despite it being inefficient in comparison.

The power of operant conditioning

Operant conditioning is a learning theory that explains how behavior is influenced by its consequences. By understanding operant conditioning, techniques can be employed to enhance the speed and efficiency of learning.

Essentially, operant conditioning describes that if someone is positively rewarded for their behavior, they are more likely to do it again. On the other hand, if an action results in punishment or an undesirable consequence, the person will be less likely to do it again.

In the context of the rat experiment, the rats were positively rewarded when they operated the cars through the Froot Loop treats. This positive reinforcement made them more likely to continue driving the car, and continually improve on their driving skills to reach the Froot Loop.

Operant conditioning logic and also be applied to everyday life. For example, if you’re looking to improve your motivation for study—you could condition yourself with rewards every time you receive an A.

Complex environments and neuroplasticity

The rat car driving study supports the idea that complex, enriched environments are better for enhancing neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to be able to change and adapt due to experience.

Neuroplasticity is an umbrella term and can refer to how the brain can change, grow, and reorganize neural networks. So, not only is neuroplasticity critical for learning but enhanced neuroplasticity can also help injury recovery and aging.

So, the experiment compared how efficiently rats learned when in enriched environments compared to standard-house rats. It was found that the rats in the enriched ‘housing’ led to more robust learning in driving performance.

Other research has resulted in similar findings, that enriched environments in other animals, including humans, can be beneficial. For example, it has been shown to improve learning, and memory tasks, and reduce anxiety.

Anticipation, joy, and the brain

The other major finding is the importance of positive emotions on brain development. Research has long supported the negative link between stress and anxiety and the brain, but now we’re uncovering the impact positive emotions, like joy, have.

As supported by this rat experiment, neuroscience research is increasingly growing to support the idea that joy and positive emotions are critical for overall well-being. Not only does it impact mental health, it can affect physical health, too.

Like how chronic stress can influence the brain’s development and neural pathways forming, consistent positive emotions and the anticipation for positive events can do the same. If there’s anything to take away from the rat study, it’s the importance of happiness.