Can Driving Lower Stress

Driving stress may be reduced because of pleasant scenery availability, but driving stress will be increased in response to stress-inducing drivers around you...

I guess if there's no other traffic, and no rules or consequences, it might be stress relieving....My cousin lives in what they call a golf cart village, where everything is accessible with golf carts....they have scenic paths that run everywhere...

Did each of the rats occupy the test area alone, or was there several/many rats in the driving area simultaneously?...

Did the rats tend to exhibit (more) frustration when not being given more rewards for learning to drive faster...

What was the average, and standard deviation, of learning times as a function of the ages of the rats?...

Were the the rewards dispensed from a single source, or several sources simultaneously?...

Did the rats exhibit increased depression when not being allowed access to the driving area for prolonged periods of times?...

Did the rats exhibit any tendecy to race to be first to the dispenser?...

Sounds like somebody needs a nice soothing drive about....

Who pays these brilliant research studies?

Anyone who believes for a moment that bunch of chillaxin' cruisin' rodents will have an influence on prescribed pharmaceuticals had better ask their physician if driving is right for him/her/x.

On topic. It depends on the rat behind the wheel. Imo

Maybe we need to do a study with guinea pigs just to confirm the findings.

You Do!

We all Do!

Tax Dollar funded studies, as well as that Collage Tuition we pay.

The Sad part is, this is what they are teaching our college students as a course.

Like they are going to go into the medical field and prescribe Fruit Loots to physic patients instead or drugs. And use this study as a basics for doing it.

First attempt at replication....

Second attempt....success!

Cured!

That's great.

Let's see how they feel on the interstate between some big trucks during thundershowers at night!

Serenity

That requires a plan "B"....

''Anxious Allen''?...

Rat rod road warrior....

...need Charlize Theron as my co-pilot....

That scope is a bit oversized for the range of an SKS firing 7.62x39 rounds.

Yes it is, but in the future they have to work with what ever they have and piece things together in any way that works...

And that's how she ended up with a beskulled, flaming, chain mailed merkin.

Oh I think that just means she's closed for business down there....You know, like Jane Fonda...

The cops may not like that about her.

yea that did cross my mind..

Let them drive in city traffic and see what that does to their stress...

Yeah, sure. Driving is relaxing.

"The rats were not required to take a driving test at the end of the study."..."

It's a good thing. We don't want people to be upset about their lower scores.

Quite a few years ago I read where scientists were controlling the direction of rats by implanting electrodes into their whisker hairs.Rats use their whiskers to navigate in the dark. I don't remember how they controlled forward-reverse,but if sent forward,they would automatically navigate obstacles,such as stairs.I am sure the implants and controls have been greatly miniaturized by now,and are probably capable of being implanted in roach bugs.

Imagine these with two way video/audio.

A real bug in the room wherever you wanted it.

UPDATE:Here is a link to a kit for controlling a cockroach remotely.Imagine a DIY bug!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rp4V3Sj5jE

I am sure the controller has been miniaturized since this was released,probably down to the microscopic range with video and audio capabilities for spies and snoopers.

Imagine these little guys driving a car with explosive devices.

I am sure the technology could be adapted for larger vehicles.

A real cereal killer.

Related to your thought: Years ago, Dr. John Lilly was asked by the US military to help develop remote control of pack animals via electrodes implanted in the animals' brains. Pleasure/pain electrical stimulus would keep the mule/camel/horse moving in the desired direction. The intention was to develop a new type of stealth weapon - an animal could be loaded up with high explosives, then sent into the enemies camp, and the explosives remotely detonated. Dr. Lilly, being an animal lover, refused to participate.

No need for that now...they have people to do it--- no PETA complaints.

study is flawed..

driving home now for me for 23miles is 25-30 mins of nothing.. 3 stoplights and no traffic.

when I lived in Houston driving to work was 20 miles and it took 2.5hrs in bumper to bumper traffic. actually I was able to cut it down to 1.5hrs after I figured out what lane to be in to jockey for movement.

have a cat chase those rats with an occasional one eaten (while others watch).. then lets see how relaxed they are.

and for those asking why not live closer.. I spent most of my time off site (oil/gas consultant) and shared a condo with others from the rust belt (mid 80's)

Yes! Make those rats pay for owning that car.

Get jobs for those who drive.. they can join the rat race.

Oh PETA would never allow torturing of rats, humans is ok though....

Any reported cases of rat road rage?

How do they measure stress levels in rats?

It would seem that a CAT scan would increase stress levels.

Have the scientists simulated a scenario with the I5 during rush hour?

I'm not a bit surprised that if one teaches a rat to do anything that gives them food that the rat also learns to relax.

This has to be easier than taking a pizza down a subway stair.

total waste of taxpayer money

The University of Richmond is a private school. Somewhere in the mix, there may be some taxpayer money but they have the right to spend their own money in any foolish, silly manner they want.

Don't assume that specious expenses can only be done with taxpayer money.

I wonder if this will be a candidate for the 2020 Ig Noble awards?

Several days ago, the lead scientist of this study, Dr. Kelly Lambert, was interviewed on CBC's "As It Happens" radio show. In the entire interview she made no reference to the stress levels of the participant rats. Instead, she repeatedly emphasized that rats raised in an enriched environment (lots of play toys for the rats) learned the car driving task much faster than those raised in a non-enriched environment (a cage, food and water, but nothing else). From the interview, the effect of environment on learning ability seemed to be focus of the study.

Thanks. That makes for a far better scientific study and analysis than how most of the media have portrayed this study.

I still think it should be an Ig Noble candidate.

I'd put my money on a wild rat raised in the great outdoors to acquire food first, over a rat raised in an unnatural confined space no matter how many toys they had...though they might have higher stress levels from being raised in an eat or be eaten environment...proper stress levels have been shown to enhance performance....

City drive this morning..