'Remote Controlled Rats Could Lead to Rodents Searching Disaster Sights or Tracking Land Mines,' says Drexel Researcher.

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PHILADELPHIA--(BW HealthWire)--May 2, 2002

In findings released today in the journal Nature, rats could one day be used for disaster recovery and military reconnaissance. In a study funded by the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to explore how to control behavior in rodents, electrodes implanted in a rat's brain create a "remote-controlled" animal capable of following commands on demand.

According to project collaborator Dr. Karen Moxon, an assistant professor and researcher in Drexel University's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, rats will one day be able to search for disaster victims such as those trapped in the World Trade Center. The rats could also sniff out TNT found in land mines.

Moxon collaborated on the project with Sanjiv K. Talwar, Shaohua Xu, Emerson S. Hawley, Shennan A. Weiss and John K. Chapin, all of whom work at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Centre in Brooklyn, N.Y.

"Rats have a keen sense of smell, as do dogs," said Moxon, who focuses her research on understanding how the brain processes sensory information to produce intelligent motor output. "But dogs are so much bigger and sometimes harder to handle than rats."

As part of the study, five rats were fitted with electrodes and power-pack backpacks. Using a laptop capable of sending out stimulus signals to the electrodes in the rats' brains, Moxon and her associates could cue the rodents to move in a specific direction. The rodents were then rewarded with electrode stimulation to a pleasure center in the brain. With a range of 1,640 feet, the laptop used in the experiment enabled the scientists to keep track on the rodents.

Rats were also put through the rigors of varied environments. They were led through pipes and across elevated runways and instructed to climb or jump from any surface that offered sufficient space. The rats systematically explored large, collapsed piles of concrete rubble. Even though rats are nocturnal, they could be directed into environments they normally avoid, such as bright light.

For full article, direct your browser to www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v417/n6884/ full/417037a_fs.html

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