So rats, apparently, are ticklish. Funny — I always thought they were just trying to eat my soft parts when they crawled all over me in my old apartment. Turns out they just wanted a little tickle on the tummy. Check it:
So by amplifying sound, tickling rat's bellies and checking to make sure they enjoyed it, we've determined that rats can laugh. The test rats even started following people's hands so they could get more fun time.
You want to know the only thing more disturbing than tickling rats? Dr. Jaak Panksepp, that's what. Something about the slow, deliberate way he speaks and obvious passion he has for rat ticklage makes me nervous inside.
I also really dislike the twinkle in his eye he gets when he says, "And when we tested these animals to ask whether they were enjoying this kind of activity, the unambiguous answer was yes."
You see, Panksepp doesn't explain how they tested to make sure the rats enjoyed it. But I'm sure Panksepp had some interesting ideas...[shudders]
Rats Laugh When You Tickle Them (Free Science Videos and Lectures)
Comments
John Pavlus
says:
Is there a non-species-specific scientific definition of "laughter"? If so, the sound I'm making in response to his methodology is surely it.
January 16, 2008 4:37 PM
Maia Szalavitz
says:
Hey...Jaak Panksepp is a genuine pioneer in affective neuroscience and from my experience interviewing him, at least, a really kind and helpful guy.
How do you know that a rat is enjoying something? Well, a good measure is if they will press a lever (AKA work) to be able to have it done. So I'm guessing that was his method...
January 16, 2008 5:21 PM
Assissotom says:
I really do like this place.
January 17, 2008 5:41 AM
Maggie says:
The "laughter," or 50 kHz chirps, is associated with "liking" in a paradigm called conditioned place preference. The rats are tickled in one chamber, but not tickled in another chamber. Then they are given a choice between the chambers, and the one they spend more time in is considered to be the one that they associate with some positive event. The conditioned place preference protocol is widely used in studies of addictive drugs, for example.
March 11, 2008 12:43 PM
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