Are rats right-handed?
Yes. Just like in people, the majority of rats are right-handed, or "right-pawed."
Paw preference in rats was first recognized in 1930, when Tsai gave rats a small glass bottle of wheat germ. The opening of the glass bottle was so small that a rat could insert only one paw at a time. Tsai watched each of 105 rats grab food out of the container 250 times. A little over half of the rats (52%) used their right paws to grasp food out of the container 75-100% of the time, making them right-handed. About a third (31%) preferred to use their left paws, and a small number (17%) showed no paw-preference, making them ambidextrous (Tsai and Maurer, 1930).
More recent studies have found an even higher percentage of right-handed rats. In general, all these studies agree that most rats are right-handed, a smaller number are left-handed, and a few are ambidextrous.
Are left-handed rats more creative?
Paw preference in rats was first recognized in 1930, when Tsai gave rats a small glass bottle of wheat germ. The opening of the glass bottle was so small that a rat could insert only one paw at a time. Tsai watched each of 105 rats grab food out of the container 250 times. A little over half of the rats (52%) used their right paws to grasp food out of the container 75-100% of the time, making them right-handed. About a third (31%) preferred to use their left paws, and a small number (17%) showed no paw-preference, making them ambidextrous (Tsai and Maurer, 1930).
More recent studies have found an even higher percentage of right-handed rats. In general, all these studies agree that most rats are right-handed, a smaller number are left-handed, and a few are ambidextrous.
Are left-handed rats more creative?
posted by Lee at 6:10 AM
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