How Do Rats Help With Anxiety?
WouterResearchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago have conducted experiments to find out if rats can help people cope with anxiety. One experiment compared two groups of rats: rats that were tamed and those that were not. They confined one rat to a cage while the other was allowed to roam freely. Researchers found that the animals had a high emotional motivation to help the other.
The results of this experiment showed that rats that were raised in conditions of high anxiety did not exhibit depression-like symptoms. This may be because rats are less sensitive to stress in a high-stress environment. As a result, they are more likely to remain under the radar and remain calm. However, they can show signs of anxiety and depression. This is not a complete explanation of how rats help people with anxiety.
Rats are very intelligent and can be trained to do tricks. One example is training them to use a litter tray. Rats are also able to learn to recognize their owners’ schedules. Since they are highly intelligent, there is no limit to the things that they can learn. The more time you spend training your rat, the more tricks you can teach it.
The first behavioral symptom of anxiety is inhibition of ongoing behavior. Researchers have shown that individual differences in activity of the septo-hippocampal “behavioral inhibition system” contribute to vulnerability to anxiety. This system is activated by novel or environmental stimuli. Some people have an increased sensitivity to this system and anxiety as a result.
