Discover The Extraordinary Intelligence Of Mice
While rodents may frighten some people and enjoy a bad reputation, the intelligence of mice is extraordinary. If it receives the proper care, this rodent turns out to be an excellent pet.
Mice are naturally curious, have excellent memories and learn with excellent results. Rodents understand complex concepts, and once they have learned to do something, they are unlikely to forget it.
Once you understand how smart a mouse is, you can appreciate these little animals for who they really are. If you are committed to keeping these intelligent creatures safe and providing them with adequate mental stimulation, your efforts will be rewarded.
The mouse brain
First you need to know that mice and humans have more similarities in common than differences. In fact, we are often affected by the same diseases. The reason is that we have a similar physiology.
As for the brain, neuroscientists are discovering that the brain of mice is very similar to ours. In particular, the sensorimotor cortex of humans and that of mice share countless similarities.
It must be added that, from this race, it is the mice that emerge as winners. While the human brain relies on visual information, the mouse is also capable of handling valuable somatosensory information perceived through the whiskers.
The incredible intelligence of mice
Domesticated mice are very delicate and playful creatures. Just like a dog, a mouse is capable of learning many tricks and also being able to respond when called by name.
Don’t be surprised, the intelligence of mice is truly remarkable: your house mouse can learn to sit, to search, to jump through a circle. He can also learn to come towards you when you call him and even to walk on a slack rope.
We can teach mice to solve puzzles, to run through mazes and to perform a multitude of tricks. Training a mouse is relatively simple, as it responds well to a food-based reward. There are a number of videos available online that show you how to train a mouse.
Understanding the intelligence of mice
In nature, the survival of mice depends on their learning ability. They have to deal with every eventuality that nature may present to them: learning to find food or avoiding being caught.
In numerous laboratory tests, mice were trained by scientists to press a button to receive food. If they receive food every fourth time they press the button, they will learn to quickly press it four times to get it.
In addition, it has also been verified in the laboratories that they can learn to turn a light on and off, without receiving any reward. They do it simply because they appreciate the change. Scientists believe they get their reward from having power over this phenomenon.
Little heroes
The desire to please their human friend and their acute senses of smell and hearing make it possible to train mice to search for land mines or bombs.
They can also learn how to avoid certain types of rat poison. However, these rodents can also learn to trigger mousetraps, to free themselves or other mice from this danger.
Mice are social animals
Mice are incredibly social creatures. They develop very complex relationships with other mice, feel attachment and recognize their family members. Likewise, these rodents can take care of other injured or sick mice.
Rodents can laugh. They demonstrate this by clenching and creaking their teeth. They are also able to recognize when another mouse is doing them a favor, which they will reciprocate. This kind of behavior, called direct reciprocity, is the first to be identified in the animal kingdom.
Rodents possess very complex communication skills, because they use high frequency sounds to communicate with each other. These are sounds that humans are unable to perceive. Additionally, rodents can develop attachment to humans and are very popular as pets.
They give in to the pressure of the group
Curiously, mice also succumb to pressure from their mates, just as we humans do. If they are found in the company of other mice that feed on foods that have a really bad taste, they adapt and eat it too.
Currently, scientists are manipulating genes to create smarter mice, hoping to find better treatments against dementia in humans. For the moment, the intellectual superiority of the mice seems indisputable. The success of their survival in the face of the living conditions set by nature and man can only arouse our respect.
