NewsEducation

Actions

Research finds rats can learn to drive

Posted
and last updated

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — It's a sentence that sounds too ridiculous to be true -- not only can rats learn to drive tiny cars, but they actually find it relaxing.

Video from the Lambert Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Richmond shows little rats driving little rat-sized vehicles.

Dr. Kelly Lambert and her team constructed the tiny cars from clear plastic food containers in order to study cognitive function.

They then rigged the vehicles with an aluminum floor and three copper bars that made the cars go left, right or straight, depending on which one was pressed.

That means the rats not only learned to press the gas, they learned to steer different targets on the maze.

The reward for driving? A Froot Loop cereal piece.

Even more interesting? Dr. Lambert's team found that learning to drive actually relaxed the rats, noticing a drop in their stress levels when they mastered the new skill.

But, just like many humans, they were not as comfortable being passengers.

This article was written by KABC.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Thursday

04/02/2026

Clear

-° / 46°

2%

Friday

04/03/2026

Mostly Clear

80° / 51°

1%

Saturday

04/04/2026

Partly Cloudy

87° / 55°

0%

Sunday

04/05/2026

Mostly Clear

88° / 58°

0%

Monday

04/06/2026

Clear

86° / 57°

1%

Tuesday

04/07/2026

Mostly Clear

84° / 56°

9%

Wednesday

04/08/2026

Partly Cloudy

78° / 56°

24%

Thursday

04/09/2026

Showers Early

73° / 51°

50%