Run, run! I can almost see the CHEESE at the end of the tunnel?!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
What motivates you to work out? Is it the abs you imagine after a few months? Or the pizza you imagine after you’re done? Imagination is a powerful motivator, but do animals have that too?
Chongxi Lai and team from Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigated.
First, they placed rats in treadmill balls. Then they projected animated environments all around them. When the rats moved, the animation moved, like virtual reality. They were rewarded with food when they reached certain locations.
Then, the animation stopped moving as the rats ran. And? They kept running towards their reward! How? With their imagination! The researchers monitored the rats’ brains, which showed hippocampal activity! This is the area responsible for imagination!
The researchers believe rats could be used to study our own brains!
Perhaps… in spite all of our rage… we’re still just RATS in a CAGE.
Reference: Lai, C., Tanaka, S., Harris, T. D., & Lee, A. K. (2023). Volitional activation of remote place representations with a hippocampal brain–machine interface. Science, 382(6670), 566–573. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh5206