Rats can be trained to play hide and seek with humans: Study

Scientists have trained rats to play hide and seek with humans, an advance that paves the way for studying the neurobiology of playful behaviour in animals.

The study, published in the journal Science, noted that very little is known about the neurological basis of playful behaviours in animals since such activities are free, and provides no benefits to the organism beyond the game.

The researchers noted that the traditional methods of neuroscience -- which often rely on strict control and conditioning -- are not much useful to study playful behaviour.

Annika Reinhold of Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany, and her colleagues taught rats to play a rat-versus-human version of "Hide and Seek."