Scientist knew the rats were more chill and less anxious when they got to drive the cars by testing their excrement for stress hormones. And the rats that actually got to drive the cars, researchers found, appeared to be less stressed than rats that were merely passengers in remotely controlled versions. “Therefore, we found that driving training led to more resilient stress hormone profiles.”The driving rats in the study held an interest in driving throughout the trial and showed more learning capacity when compared with rats that were less stimulated. The results of the study could impact future research on how Parkinson’s disease alters motor skills and spatial function in humans, Lambert told New Scientist. Lambert said her team will focus next on how rats have the capability to learn driving skills and why it seems to alleviate stress, according to New Scientist.

Source: Washington Post October 24, 2019 21:24 UTC