An experiment conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota has shown that rats can experience a feeling like regret, similar to humans.
According to ScienceDaily, researchers developed a task called “Restaurant Row” to see if rats could experience regret. The scientists defined regret as “the recognition that you made a mistake, that if you had done something else, you would have been better off.”
Researchers measured the rats’ orbitofrontal cortex — a part of the brain that is active while experiencing regret — while presenting them with flavored pellets.
The rats would have to wait a certain amount of time before a feeding machine dispensed a pellet. The critters learned a tone would indicate just how long they’d have to wait.
The rats would skip an entrance if they thought they'd have to wait too long for a meal, but sometimes the wait at the other entrance was even worse. When they made a bad choice, they stopped and looked back, which researchers interpreted as regret.
The rats' orbitofrontal cortex seemed to confirm this suggestion. When the rats longingly looked back at the entrance they skipped, their brains showed a representation of entering that restaurant.
PBS reports some of the rats learned from their mistake, just like humans do. Some of the rats' neural activity showed them planning their next meal after a mistake.
The study was published June 8 in the journal Nature Neuroscience.