What do mice and men have in common?

What might mice and men have in common?

Both seem to share a desire to be “on the move” according to a new Dutch study of uncaged rodents.

When allowed to roam free in a natural setting but given the chance to use an exercise wheel, many of the mice chose to take the wheel ‘for a spin’. And they didn’t do it just once, but would repeatedly hop on and off and back on again.

This led the researchers to conclude that mice are fun-loving creatures. And that running on an exercise wheel isn’t simply the result of anxiety, as some animal welfare folks complained might be the case.

As one observer, Gene D. Block, chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles, put it, the study showed the activity to be “some type of rewarding behavior” and “probably not driven by stress or anxiety.”

But when it comes to exercise, the researchers believe not all mice are created equal. Some — the mouse version of couch potatoes — probably take little pleasure in these ‘mini-spinny marathons’.

But most apparently do. And it wouldn’t surprise me if another study found rats enjoy being part of the “rat race” as well.

Sources:
“Mice run for fun, not just work, research shows” James Gorman, May 20, 2014, The New York Times, nytimes.com