A rat remembers: Research reveals how rodents have memory of places they go to

New Delhi

Rats can think. They can think enough to fit through the pop culture reference 'Thinking Out Loud'. Research has revealed that rats remember the paths they take and return to them when they feel the need. 

To put it precisely, the rats can navigate their way in and out of the places using their thoughts alone, indicating that they have a form of imagination that can be evoked only if one remembers things. 

Chongxi Lai, the first author of the study from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus, said the study is the first to show that animals are capable of activating brain's representations of the places away from where their existing state of being.

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"This is a fundamental building block of a specific type of imagination, one that enables us to project ourselves into the past or future, within a certain scenario," Lai was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

How do we remember things?

A region of the brain called the hippocampus contains a sort of mental model, or map, and keeps a record of explored environments. When an individual moves through specific locations within such an environment, particular neurons fire in the brain.

However, humans can, at will, imagine. They can navigate their way through places they have previously visited – for example the way to home or hostel.

How did researchers find that rats remember?

Researchers analysed the activity in rats’ hippocampus in real time during a scientifically-stimulated task.

The results revealed that rats could indeed navigate the way to a previously- explored path using just their brain activity, meaning that they have the ability to imagine.

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Professor Tim Harris, another author of the work at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said it was thought that in humans, imagination and recall is linked to activity in the hippocampus similar to that which occurs in the real-life scenario.

"To this end, it is fair to say the rats do imagine," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)