Brain Training Generalizes To Mice

mouse in the lab

mouse in the lab

For all of you rodents out there, a new study provides cause for celebration. Scientists from Rutgers have demonstrated that working memory training, previously shown to improve intelligence in humans, can also work for mice. (Brain training study at Rutgers.)

The scientists tested the intelligence of the mice with maze puzzles, then put them through a program of brain training exercises to develop their working memory. After the training, they tested the mice again and found an increased ability to solve novel maze puzzles.

Louis Matzel, professor of psychology in Rutgers’ School of Arts and Sciences, said:

“…our question was, does improving an animal’s capacity for working memory make him smarter? And the answer, from our experiment, was yes.”

Dr. Leonard Mousterston, a prominent mouse psychologist at the University of Cheddar, expressed guarded excitement:

“We knew that this kind of training worked in humans, but the question was always whether it would work for mice; this new study gives us reason to think that it does. Of course further research is needed before we can roll out the training to skirting boards around the country…”

It’s rumored that Rutgers scientists in other departments, emboldened by the success of their colleagues, have set out to decode the human genome and develop a polio vaccine.

File under ‘strange but true’ (at least the first part).

Tags: ,

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.