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Science 28 March 2008:
Vol. 319. no. 5871, pp. 1849 - 1851
DOI: 10.1126/science.1151564
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Reports

Rule Learning by Rats

Robin A. Murphy,1* Esther Mondragón,1* Victoria A. Murphy2

Using rules extracted from experience to solve problems in novel situations involves cognitions such as analogical reasoning and language learning and is considered a keystone of humans' unique abilities. Nonprimates, it has been argued, lack such rule transfer. We report that Rattus norvegicus can learn simple rules and apply them to new situations. Rats learned that sequences of stimuli consistent with a rule (such as XYX) were different from other sequences (such as XXY or YXX). When novel stimuli were used to construct sequences that did or did not obey the previously learned rule, rats transferred their learning. Therefore, rats, like humans, can transfer structural knowledge from sequential experiences.

1 Department of Psychology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
2 Department of Education, University of Oxford, 15 Norham Gardens, Oxford OX2 6PY, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: robin.murphy{at}ucl.ac.uk (R.A.M.); e.mondragon{at}ucl.ac.uk (E.M.)

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