LAB RATS AT PLAY
By studying the playing habits of young lab rats, a researcher at Gettysburg College is hoping to understand our own playing habits, as well as shed some light on autism.
When young lab rats chase each other or nip at each others necks, it's not long before one will roll over on its back, signaling that it still wants to play, says Stephen Siviy, associate professor of psychology at Gettysburg College.
Siviy knows this because he spends countless hours studying and documenting different strains of lab rats at play.
"What we're hoping to do is learn why some rats are playful and why others are withdrawn. We think that there may be some neurobiological differences in the withdrawn rats which may be similar to those seen in autistic children," says Siviy.
Using lab rats to draw conclusions about the human brain isn't as improbable as it may seem at first, says Siviy.
"The part of the rat brain that regulates play, below the cortex, is very similar to the human brain," he says.
The purpose of play for young mammals is more complicated than previously believed as well, says Siviy. The belief has always been that young mammals play because they are practicing to be adults, but this may not be the case, he says.
One theory is that play helps mammals cope with environmental stresses.
"Rats who play as juveniles tend to deal better with things such as confronting another rat when they're adults," says Siviy. "But, if you take a rat who was by himself or didn't play as a juvenile and put him in a smelly cage with a bunch of other rats, that's going to be very stressful for them. The ones who played more adapted better."
Siviy has found that certain strains of lab rats don't play much while others are much more playful than normal. One rat strain in particular, the Fischer-344, is downright unplayful.
The Fischer-344 is an inbred rat that is most commonly used for aging research because of its healthy immune system. We study it because it doesn't respond well to play at all. Usually they will not respond or just run away when confronted with another playful rat," says Siviy.
In addition to being unplayful, the Fischer 344 rats can be hyper-active and remote, not unlike autistic children sometimes are, says Siviy. Currently, one of Siviy's students is testing an anti-psychotic drug on the Fischer-344 rats. The student is using the same anti-psychotic drug that has recently been used with some success to treat autism, says Siviy.
Siviy believes that his research may provide other insights as well. Since play usually, but not always, declines in rats and humans as they get older, Siviy thinks his studies may benefit research into aging--or perhaps how to age more gracefully.
In addition to documenting play, Siviy is also hoping to research the tickling of rats, in the near future. Using a bat vocalization detector which can pick up the inaudible high-pitched squeaks that rats make, one of his colleagues noticed that rats make certain inaudible high-pitched squeals when lightly stroked. Since young rats also emit these sounds when they're playing, Siviy hopes to begin incorporating these vocalizations into his play research.
"We describe it as a laugh," says Siviy.
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Editors: For more information you can contact Stephen Siviy at 717-337-6180. If you need assistance, contact Steve Infanti of Dick Jones Communications at 814-867-1963 or via e- mail at [email protected]
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