Scientists teaching rats how to drive discover that the rodents have a need for speed

Forget the cheese — these rats have a need for speed.

Scientists teaching rats to drive have discovered that not only are the rodents capable of operating their tiny cars, but they actually enjoy it and even get a kick out of revving their engines.

University of Richmond professor and neuroscientist Kelly Lambert has been leading the research since 2019, and in that time she and her team have found that the whiskered critters really like driving their miniature vehicles.

“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,” Lambert wrote in an essay for The Conversation last week.

Small rat operating a miniature vehicle at the University of Richmond. University of Richmond

Lambert’s study aims to explore the relationship between animals and their environments, how their cognition develops, and how they process new skills. The rat-driving research went viral in 2022 and even wound up featured in a Netflix documentary.

The new revelation also showed that the rats looked forward to getting behind the wheel beforehand.

“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,” Lambert wrote.

“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.”

Professor Kelly Lambert spearheaded the study after the idea was suggested to her by a colleague. University of Richmond

The driving rats study took the internet by storm, going so viral that it was even featured in a Netflix documentary. University of Richmond

Her team concluded that the rats’ excitement could come from a combination of their Pavlovian response — knowing they’d be rewarded with a treat for the drive — on top of their positive experiences operating their pint-sized vehicles.

Lambert trained the rats to correlate driving with their reward — a coveted Froot Loop — which encouraged them to hit the gas.

But even without the reward, she observed that the rodents still wanted to zoom off in their mini cars.

“Rather than pushing buttons for instant rewards, they remind us that planning, anticipating and enjoying the ride may be key to a healthy brain,” she wrote.

The scientists use Froot Loops as treats to incentivize the rats to drive, but discovered that they seem to enjoy the work regardless of the reward. University of Richmond

The idea for the study came from former UR psychology professor Beth Crawford. She suggested it to Lambert, who originally wrote it off, but circled back to it after realizing the greater scientific implications and possibilities that could come from teaching rodents to drive — of all things.

“It’s an interesting, complex task about movement and travel. It’s about moving in time and space, but not moving the body,” Lambert told The Collegian, UR’s student newspaper, in 2020.