Rats bop with the best, study finds

Nodding along to catchy music is not just a human habit, according to Japanese scientists, who have discovered that rats also move to the beat of songs by stars like Lady Gaga.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo played Mozart and Queen – and Lady Gaga’s Born this Way

– to rats wearing miniature sensors to detect even the tiniest movements.

They found the rodents had an innate ability to synchronise their movements to the beat, previously believed to be a skill unique to people.

“Rats’ brains are designed to respond well to music”, even though their bodies move only a little, said associate professor Hirokazu Takahashi, a member of the team which conducted the study.

“We all believe music has magical powers, but don’t know anything about its mechanisms.”

So “we wanted to find out what kind of sound connections appeal to the brain without the influence of emotion or memory”.

“For rats, the ‘bopping’ effect was most pronounced for music in the range of 120 to 140 beats per minute – the same as humans.”

This led the scientists to hypothesise it could be a reaction that is consistent across different species.

“Music moves the body. It goes beyond the auditory system and affects the motor system ... the power of sound is that great,” Takahashi said.

The research mainly focused on Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K 448, played at four different tempos.

But the scientists also tried out Born this Way

and the driving rhythm of Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust.

The study was published last week in the peer-reviewed Science Advances journal.

Takahashi wants to go on to explore the effects of melody and harmony on the brain. –