Driving Rats: Steering Toward Neuroscience Discoveries

Giving drivers education a whole new meaning!

Drive yourself, let mass transit steer you or take whatever transportation is necessary to help you arrive at your destination: the Science Museum for our next Sunrise Science event! Dr. Kelly Lambert, Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Richmond, has turned over the keys … to rats. You read that correctly: her team taught the small, furry, long-tailed mammals to drive “Rodent-Operated Vehicles” in a brain study. 

Yield to your curiosity and stop in on March 18 as Dr. Lambert walks through her rodent-training research and explains why it’s important for humans on and off the road.

Dr. Lambert is a behavioral neuroscientist interested in experience-based neuroplasticity. She and her students use preclinical animal models to learn more about the neurobiology of stress, resilience, depression, parenting and natural enrichment. 

Buckle up for a neuroscientific departure from your morning commute. You have the green light for discovery!