Rats are much more intelligent than you thought. Also more chilled. That’s the upshot of a recent University of Richmond study that trained rats how to drive a tiny car, in exchange for Fruit Loops.
When rats figured out how to drive, their levels of dehydroepiandrosterone increased. This is a hormone that is known to counter stress. As such, it was obvious that the stress levels of the rats went down when they mastered a new skill, in this case, how to drive a car.
Commenting to New Scientist, researcher Kelly Lambert said, “I do believe that rats are smarter than most people perceive them to be, and that most animals are smarter in unique ways than we think.”
