“It’s so far from what we know that it feels like we’re watching Jedi rats,” confesses one of the researchers. So no, they don’t wield lightsabers like Yoda or Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, but they would have “the Force”! According to the study published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviewsthese rodents could perform feats thanks to the ultrasound they emit.
Do rats have a sixth sense?
Rats are said to have exceptional abilities. This is what Eduardo Mercado III, a psychologist at the University of Buffalo, and Jessica Zhuo, a neuroscience student at Harvard, sought to demonstrate. They were intrigued by the fact that rodents sniff after making a sound.
A curiosity which led them to understand this movement process, based on numerous research. They thus detected a correlation between ultrasonic vocalizations (ULV) and the production of pheromones. These chemical substances are secreted by individuals of the same species, serving as a means of communication.
By emitting ultrasound, rats bring together groups of molecules:“they create new information pathways by manipulating their environment, and by controlling the molecular interactions of the particles around them,” says Eduardo Mercado III. The movement of the particles leads to a concentration of pheromones, which become more perceptible to the animal. Its sense of smell is thus developed, and allows optimal collection of information carried by substances in its environment.
A revolution for neuroscientific research
This mode of functioning has never before been observed in any other species. So much so that the scientific world had no idea of its existence. “It almost seems like magic,” the researcher is surprised.
An advance which therefore proves beneficial concerning the remote manipulation of particles, a mechanism that is still complex for humans, but which would be a source of inspiration for new technologies. It could also benefit the study of mental illness, since ultrasound from rats would indicate their emotional state.
The theory is based on an accumulation of data and evidence of mechanisms already observed in rats, but there has not yet been a testing phase. The news nevertheless remains promising, according to Eduardo Mercado III: “we could have a head start if we confirm that nature has already solved the problem for us”.
Rats, masters of echolocation
Scientists have known it for almost 70 years: rats can broadcast ultrasound. These are very high-pitched sounds, and not perceptible to humans. They allow them to find their way in space by identifying nearby elements. Their prey and predators are thus easily detected. This is called echolocation.
Rats don't see well, so they have to compensate. In a study published in the journal Journal of Comparative Psychology in 1957, scientists concluded that “LThe ability of rats to echolocate may be the basis of certain performances that have been attributed to visual discrimination”.
Without this “sixth sense”, it would be much more difficult for the rat to orient itself. When deprived of sight, human beings can also have this faculty. However, it is not as developed. With practice, he can listen carefully and listen to the echo emitted by the sound of a mouth or cane.
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