Capital Berg

Keeps People Up-To-Date

Friday, March 5, 2021
Log in
  • United States
  • Business
  • Health
  • Science
  • Technology
  • About CapitalBerg
    • Analysts & Contributors
    • Advertising
    • Contact US
    • Privacy Policy GDPR
    • Terms of Use

Pages

  • About CapitalBerg
  • Advertising
  • Analysts & Contributors
  • Contact US
  • Investor Relations
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • SEC Disclosure
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Tennessee Rapist Breaks into Woman’s House Three Times the Same Night to Assault Her June 29, 2018
  • Mentally Ill Man Arrested After Breaking into Retirement Home to Grope a Woman’s Chest June 28, 2018
  • “Syndrome” Author Blake Leibel Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Torture of Girlfriend June 27, 2018
  • Michigan Dad to Be Sentenced in the Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Infant June 26, 2018
  • Ohio Patrolman Booted from Police After Pulling Over His Daughter and Boyfriend June 26, 2018
  • Utah Mayor Shares Heartwarming Letter of Man Apologizing for Stealing a Stop Sign 75 Years Ago June 25, 2018
  • Mississippi Man Beheaded Mother After A Spat over Credit Cards June 25, 2018

Rats Have Human Dreams And The Capacity To Imagine Future Events

June 29, 2015 By Denise Ehrlich

Rats Have Human Dreams

A new study conducted by the University College London has shown that rats use dreams just like human do – to process their wishes, desires, plans for the future and frustrations.

Researchers have long used rats as test subjects for various cures and illnesses that affect human beings. They have a very similar physiology to that of our own, which makes the results trust worthy and as accurate as they can get before starting actual human trials.

Test conducted on rats are important for advancements in the medical community as the animals are used as a kind of safety net. If there are no serious side effects, then that generally means that human trials shouldn’t cause any significant discomfort to people who choose to participate in a study.

But now experts at the University College London are saying that the human brain and the rat brain share a similarity as well. While conducting some tests on the fuzzy rodents, the researchers learned that rats that were shown some food and put in an environment that prevented them from reaching it, would dream of various ways in which they could get access to the food after falling asleep.

To reach this conclusion, he researchers took some rats and put them on a track shaped like a “T”. One of the letter’s arm had some eatable goods hanging from it, however the scientists used some transparent barriers to keep the animals from accessing the snacks. At the same time, the unsuspecting creatures could see where the food was, as well as the routs that they would normally use to reach it, so they had that knowledge in their heads.

The rats were then taken to a sleeping chamber for an hour. While monitoring their brains as they were asleep, the researchers could tell that the animals were pondering the “T track” and trying to figure out a way of getting to the food.

It’s quite a complex brain process, as Hugo Spiers, lead researcher of the study and neuroscientist with the University College London (UCL), gave a statement informing that the rats create a map of their environment in their hippocampus while exploring it.

And he goes on to add that “During sleep or rest, the hippocampus replays journeys through this map which may help strengthen the memory. It has been speculated that such replay might form the content of dreams”.

He humorously pointed out that the assessment is hard to confirm as the researchers can’t exactly asked the rats whether they’re really dreaming or not. However, the research suggests that they are.

Spiers compares the phenomenon to that of a human browsing a travel brochure for a specific destination during the day, and at night, once they go to sleep, they end up dreaming about that destination. So it turns out Pixar was actually working on a pseudo-documentary when they were making Ratatouille.

What’s more, the lead researcher also mentions that rats have the capacity to build fragments of the future that’s yet to happen. Because of the similarity between the two (2) species, such a realization could even help explain why human patients who have damage to their hippocampus area typically struggle when asked to imagine future events.

The experts from the University College have said that they intend to conduct further tests in an attempt to understand how exactly sleeping helps rats think a problem through.

Image Source: sharesloth.com

  • About the Author

About Denise Ehrlich

Denise would describe herself as one more of an experience witness than a journalist. Soon after graduating, Denise worked as a journalist during the presidential campaign of Senior US Senator John McCain. Since then, much has changed, and Denise found herself gravitating towards world news.

Filed Under: Science

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 44 other subscribers

Recent Articles

sleep

Tennessee Rapist Breaks into Woman’s House Three Times the Same Night to Assault Her

June 29, 2018 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

police lights

Mentally Ill Man Arrested After Breaking into Retirement Home to Grope a Woman’s Chest

June 28, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

gavel

“Syndrome” Author Blake Leibel Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Torture of Girlfriend

June 27, 2018 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Woods

Michigan Dad to Be Sentenced in the Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Infant

June 26, 2018 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

patrol cruiser

Ohio Patrolman Booted from Police After Pulling Over His Daughter and Boyfriend

June 26, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

stop sign

Utah Mayor Shares Heartwarming Letter of Man Apologizing for Stealing a Stop Sign 75 Years Ago

June 25, 2018 By June Harris Leave a Comment

Butter knives

Mississippi Man Beheaded Mother After A Spat over Credit Cards

June 25, 2018 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

XXXTentacion mugshot

Florida Authorities Arrested Suspect in Connection with Shooting of XXXTentacion

June 22, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

sunset over beach

Dallas Mother Accused of Beating Four-Year-Old and Dumping Body Into the Water

June 21, 2018 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

chicken Alfredo

Ohio Man Sentenced for Trying to Seduce Teenage Boy with Naked Pictures and Chicken Alfredo

June 20, 2018 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

bedroom

South Carolina Teen and Mates End Up In Slammer for Raping a Teenage Girl

June 19, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

cyberstalkin

California Man Arrested for Stalking Ex-Girlfriend, Hacking Her Online Accounts

June 19, 2018 By June Harris Leave a Comment

hammer

Naked Patient Sneaks out of Emergency Room to Bash Homeowner’s Head with Hammer

June 18, 2018 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

screwdriver

Middle School Student Attacks Teacher During Class with Screwdriver

June 18, 2018 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • Stephen Hawking watching a screen while sitting in his chair

    Stephen Hawking’s Family Sends His Final Message to Space

    Jun 15, 2018
  • super earth exoplanet half in shadow

    Is Gravity the Force Keeping Aliens from Visiting Earth? European Scientists Say So (Study)

    May 8, 2018
  • starbust stars and galaxies in the universe

    Thousands of Early Galaxies Revealed by Map of Old Universe (Study)

    Apr 10, 2018
  • statue of a neanderthal half shadowed

    Scientists Found a Possible Explanation for the Neanderthals’ Big Noses (Study)

    Apr 10, 2018
  • the planet venus

    Could the Clouds of Venus Be Holding Forms of Life?

    Apr 5, 2018
  • NASA and Parker Solar Probe Study

    NASA Ready to Send the Parker Solar Probe on its First Mission

    Mar 7, 2018
  • stars and galaxies in the universe

    Scientists Measure the Expansion Rate of the Universe, Challenge Physics?

    Feb 26, 2018
  • sunspots on the sun in close up

    Is the Sun Going to Get Dimmer and Cooler in the Next Decades? (Study)

    Feb 12, 2018
  • Two mummified brothers

    Egyptian Tale of Two Mummified Brothers Takes Unexpected Turn

    Jan 18, 2018
  • Futuristic robot holding its arms spread

    A New Type of Revolutionary Robotic Muscles Is Strong, Flexible, and Cheap (Study)

    Jan 7, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Deals
  • Health
  • Science
  • Technology
  • United States
  • World

Copyright © 2021 capitalberg.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.