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Psychotic Lab Mice
meltoast writes "We send lab mice through a maze to see their reactions and then take that information and apply it to our knowledge of the human psyche. Well, what if those mice are completely out of their minds? Discover recently ran an article showing that mice kept in a standard laboratory environment may be crazy. 'In one sequence, a mouse climbs the stainless-steel walls of its cage, hangs from the ceiling by its forelegs while gnawing on the bars, then drops to the floor, only to repeat the process endlessly. On the other side of the cage, a second mouse performs backflips, one per second, for up to 30 minutes at a time.'"
Credits to D.Adams
It wouldn't surprise me if the mice are insane from lack of stimulation. People get the same way when they're cooped up and take up all sorts of repetitive psychotic behaviors. It's a self-protection method for the brain I believe, keeping itself occupied in some endless task rather than concentrating on its continuously uninteresting environment and going crazy.
I guess that would mean the mice are showing (possibly) insane behavior because the behavior is a a symptom of a deteriorating mind in a last-ditch effort to save itself.
Stop the Slashdot Effect! Don't read the articles!
Three points of note:
A) These activities consume up to half of the creatures' waking hours, every single day.
B) The affected animals also exhibit other deficiencies and obsessive behaviors.
C) The entire lifestyle of these creatures is wildly altered by the addition of something as simple as a cardboard tube to their cages.
I hardly think that an hour on a trampoline every now and then is even remotely similar.
ZFS: because love is never having to say fsck
Hmmm. It's scary how many of these behaviors also apply to slashdot trolls:
A) These activities consume up to half of the creatures' waking hours, every single day.
I'm sure they spend about half their time in front of the computer either reading, posting, or thinking of new offensive, off-topic things to say on slashdot.
B) The affected animals also exhibit other deficiencies and obsessive behaviors.
You mean like hitting "refresh" on the slashdot home page every 1-2 minutes so they can get first post?
C) The entire lifestyle of these creatures is wildly altered by the addition of something as simple as a cardboard tube to their cages.
The entire day of these creatures is wildly altered by something as simple as a fellow slashdotter replying to their message, not realizing it wasn't serious.
GMD
watch this
If you were trapped on an 10x10 meter island with nothing but a coconut tree and did not know of 'civilization' what would you do?
Then, what would you do if we added Natalie Portman to your island?? (hot grits included) Yea, that's what I thought.They're Pinky and The Brain
Yes, Pinky and The Brain
One is a genius
The other's insane.
They're laboratory mice
Their genes have been spliced
They're dinky
They're Pinky and The Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain.
Before each night is done
Their plan will be unfurled
By the dawning of the sun
They'll take over the world.
They're Pinky and The Brain
Yes, Pinky and The Brain
Their twilight campaign
Is easy to explain.
To prove their mousey worth
They'll overthrow the Earth
They're dinky
They're Pinky and The Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain
Narf!
There was a point in the article when it occured to me that the phrase, "Research causes cancer in laboratory rats." was not a joke.
On the other side of the cage, a second mouse performs backflips, one per second, for up to 30 minutes at a time.
Did anyone else think of making a clock with this
Only me? Okay then...