Are Rats Smart? Research on Rodent Intelligence

The Cognitive Abilities of Rats

Understanding Rodent Intelligence

Defining Intelligence in Animals

Intelligence in animals is typically defined as the capacity to acquire, retain, and apply information to solve problems, adapt to novel situations, and exhibit flexible behavior. Operational criteria include:

Learning speed and retention across trials.
Ability to generalize from known to unknown contexts.
Use of tools or objects to achieve goals.
Demonstration of social learning and transmission of knowledge.

Researchers assess these criteria through controlled experiments such as maze navigation, delayed‑matching‑to‑sample tasks, and problem‑solving puzzles. Quantitative metrics—error rates, latency, and choice patterns—provide comparative data across species.

In rodent studies, the focus is on measuring spatial memory, object recognition, and the ability to modify behavior after changing reward contingencies. These measures reveal the extent to which rats can plan, infer relationships, and adjust strategies, offering a concrete basis for evaluating their cognitive abilities relative to other mammals.

Historical Perspectives on Rat Cognition

Early scientific interest in rat cognition emerged in the late 19th century, when physiologists such as Wilhelm Wundt used rats to explore sensation and perception. These experiments demonstrated that rats could discriminate tactile stimuli, establishing a baseline for sensory processing studies.

In the 1930s, Karl Lashley introduced maze navigation tasks, revealing that rats could learn complex routes and retain spatial information. His work laid the foundation for later investigations of hippocampal function and spatial memory.

The 1950s and 1960s saw the development of operant conditioning chambers (Skinner boxes), allowing precise measurement of reinforcement learning in rats. Researchers documented rapid acquisition of lever‑press behaviors, confirming that rats could form associations between actions and outcomes.

During the 1970s, comparative cognition expanded to include problem‑solving tests. Rats solved puzzle boxes and demonstrated insight-like behavior, challenging earlier assumptions that complex cognition was limited to primates.

From the 1990s onward, advances in neuroimaging and genetics enabled detailed mapping of neural circuits underlying learning and decision‑making. Studies identified prefrontal and striatal pathways that support flexible behavior, confirming rats as a robust model for higher‑order cognitive processes.

Key milestones in the historical development of rat cognition research:

1880s: Sensory discrimination experiments (Wundt)
1930s: Maze navigation and spatial memory (Lashley)
1950s‑1960s: Operant conditioning paradigms (Skinner)
1970s: Problem‑solving and insight tasks
1990s‑present: Neuroimaging, optogenetics, and gene‑editing techniques

Collectively, these contributions trace a trajectory from basic sensory assessment to sophisticated analyses of neural mechanisms, establishing rats as a central species for understanding mammalian intelligence.

Scientific Evidence of Rat Intelligence

Problem-Solving Skills

Maze Navigation Experiments

Maze navigation experiments provide a primary method for assessing spatial learning and memory in rodents. Researchers typically place a rat in a labyrinth composed of interconnected corridors, then record the animal’s path, latency to reach the goal, and number of errors. Repeated trials reveal improvement in efficiency, indicating the formation of a cognitive map.

Key procedural elements include:

Maze type – radial arm, T‑maze, Morris water maze, and plus maze each test distinct aspects of navigation.
Reward system – food pellets, sucrose solution, or escape from water motivate performance.
Trial schedule – fixed inter‑trial intervals control for fatigue and stress.
Data acquisition – video tracking software quantifies speed, distance, and turn angles.

Findings consistently show that rats acquire the ability to select optimal routes after a limited number of exposures. When a barrier is introduced or the goal location is shifted, performance declines temporarily, then recovers as the animal updates its internal representation of the environment. Lesion studies demonstrate that hippocampal damage disrupts rapid acquisition, while prefrontal cortex lesions impair flexible adaptation to new maze configurations.

Variations in maze design elucidate specific cognitive processes. For example, the radial arm maze isolates working memory by requiring the animal to avoid revisiting previously entered arms, whereas the Morris water maze emphasizes long‑term spatial memory through distal visual cues. Comparative studies across strains reveal genetic influences on learning speed and error patterns.

Overall, maze navigation experiments furnish robust, quantifiable evidence of complex problem‑solving abilities in rats, supporting the view that rodent cognition encompasses both rapid learning of spatial relationships and adaptive flexibility when environmental conditions change.

Tool Use and Innovation

Research on rodent cognition has documented several instances of tool use, demonstrating that rats can manipulate objects to achieve goals that are not directly accessible. Experiments have shown that rats learn to pull a string to retrieve food, push a lever to open a door, and use a stick to extract seeds from narrow crevices. These behaviors meet the criteria for tool use: external objects are employed deliberately to alter the environment and obtain a reward.

Key experimental findings include:

Rats trained to pull a rope attached to a food tray succeed after fewer than ten trials, indicating rapid acquisition of the technique.
In a maze with a movable barrier, rats push a small wooden block to create a passage, then retrieve the block for future use, evidencing planning and reuse.
When presented with a hollow tube containing a treat, rats insert a narrow stick, extract the treat, and later modify the stick’s length to improve efficiency, reflecting innovation.

These results suggest that rats possess the capacity for problem solving that extends beyond instinctual actions. The ability to adapt existing tools, modify them, and develop novel solutions positions rats as a valuable model for studying the evolution of intelligence across mammals. Their performance under controlled laboratory conditions provides comparative data that inform theories of cognitive flexibility, social learning, and the neural mechanisms underlying innovative behavior.

Learning and Memory

Operant Conditioning and Reinforcement

Operant conditioning provides a framework for measuring how rats modify behavior in response to consequences. In laboratory settings, the paradigm isolates voluntary actions, allowing researchers to quantify learning rates, decision patterns, and flexibility.

Reinforcement can be categorized as follows:

Positive reinforcement – presentation of a rewarding stimulus after a target response.
Negative reinforcement – removal of an aversive condition contingent on the response.
Punishment – addition or removal of stimuli that decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
Extinction – cessation of reinforcement leading to gradual decline of the behavior.

Schedules of reinforcement shape response patterns. Fixed‑ratio schedules produce high rates of responding until the required number of actions is completed; variable‑ratio schedules sustain steady output with fewer pauses. Fixed‑interval schedules generate bursts of activity near the deadline, whereas variable‑interval schedules yield consistent, moderate rates.

Typical experiments employ operant chambers equipped with levers, nose‑poke ports, or touchscreens. Rats learn to press a lever to obtain food pellets, to avoid a mild electric shock, or to discriminate visual cues for reward. Data from these tasks reveal rapid acquisition of simple associations, capacity for discriminating multiple stimulus dimensions, and ability to adjust behavior when reinforcement contingencies change.

Findings demonstrate that rats can form abstract rules, exhibit behavioral flexibility, and retain learned associations over extended periods. Such capabilities support conclusions that rodent cognition includes sophisticated learning mechanisms comparable to those observed in other mammals.

Spatial Memory and Olfactory Cues

Rats demonstrate robust spatial memory, enabling navigation through complex environments. Maze experiments reveal that individuals can retain the layout of multiple arms after a single exposure, returning to target locations with high accuracy. Hippocampal place cells fire in patterns that correspond to specific positions, confirming a neural substrate for spatial representation.

Olfactory cues complement visual and tactile information, guiding rats toward food, conspecifics, and shelter. Studies using odor‐marked corridors show that subjects prioritize scent trails over visual markers when both are available. The olfactory bulb projects to the piriform cortex, which integrates scent signals with hippocampal activity, creating a multimodal map of the surroundings.

Key observations linking spatial memory and smell include:

Rapid acquisition of odor‑based landmarks during initial foraging trips.
Persistent recall of scent locations after extended delays, even when visual cues are altered.
Enhanced performance in navigation tasks when scent trails are reinforced with spatial landmarks.

These findings indicate that rats rely on an intertwined system of spatial cognition and olfactory processing, allowing flexible adaptation to dynamic habitats.

Social Intelligence

Empathy and Prosocial Behavior

Rats demonstrate empathy‑like responses and prosocial actions in controlled laboratory settings. Experiments reveal that individuals will forgo personal food rewards to free a trapped conspecific, indicating motivation to alleviate another’s distress. Similar patterns emerge when observers increase grooming of a stressed partner, a behavior interpreted as consolation.

Key experimental paradigms include:

Distress‑alleviation task – a free rat can release a trapped cage‑mate by pulling a lever; release rates rise when the trapped rat exhibits vocalizations or frantic movements.
Food‑sharing assay – a rat chooses between a solitary treat and a shared portion that benefits a hungry peer; many subjects opt for the shared option despite lower caloric gain.
Emotional contagion test – observers display heightened freezing or ultrasonic vocalizations after witnessing a partner receive a mild shock, mirroring the emotional state of the demonstrator.

Neurobiological investigations link these behaviors to specific circuits. Oxytocin signaling in the nucleus accumbens enhances helping tendencies, while activity in the anterior cingulate cortex correlates with affective sharing. Mirror‑neuron–like cells in the rat somatosensory cortex fire both during self‑generated and observed pain, providing a physiological substrate for empathy.

The presence of empathy and prosocial conduct in rodents challenges the view that such capacities are exclusive to primates. Findings support the inclusion of rats as viable models for studying the evolution of social cognition and for testing interventions aimed at disorders of empathy.

Communication and Cooperation

Rats exchange information through ultrasonic vocalizations, pheromonal cues, and whisker‑mediated tactile signals. These channels convey alarm, reproductive status, and spatial orientation with millisecond precision, enabling rapid group coordination.

Experimental observations demonstrate cooperative actions. In paired‑maze trials, one rat learns to open a door that grants both subjects access to food, adjusting behavior after the partner’s failure. In a lever‑press task, a subject repeatedly activates a mechanism that delivers a reward to a cage‑mate, even when no personal gain is possible. Rescue experiments show that rats will release trapped conspecifics by gnawing cage bars, indicating recognition of another’s distress.

Key cooperative scenarios include:

Joint foraging when resources are dispersed, reducing individual search time.
Collaborative nest building that improves thermoregulation.
Mutual grooming that lowers parasite load and reinforces social bonds.

Neurobiological studies link these behaviors to activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, medial prefrontal regions, and oxytocin‑mediated pathways. Pharmacological blockade of oxytocin receptors diminishes both vocal alarm calls and willingness to assist partners, confirming hormonal modulation of prosocial conduct.

Findings on rat communication and cooperation expand the comparative framework for mammalian intelligence. They provide measurable benchmarks for assessing social cognition, support the validity of rodent models in neuropsychiatric research, and suggest evolutionary continuity between basic affiliative mechanisms and higher‑order human social skills.

Factors Influencing Rat Intelligence

Genetics and Environment

Heritability of Cognitive Traits

Research on rodent cognition has repeatedly quantified the genetic contribution to learning and memory. Heritability estimates (h²) for maze navigation, spatial working memory, and novel‑object discrimination in laboratory rats typically range from 0.30 to 0.55, indicating that roughly one‑third to one‑half of phenotypic variance stems from additive genetic factors. These figures arise from selective‑breeding experiments, where offspring of high‑performing parents retain superior task scores across generations, and from quantitative‑genetic analyses of outbred populations.

Key methodological approaches include:

Selective breeding: Lines derived from top 10 % performers on the Morris water maze retain enhanced latency reductions after ten generations, confirming a robust genetic signal.
Genome‑wide association studies (GWAS): Polymorphisms near the Grin2b and Bdnf loci correlate with individual differences in radial‑arm maze accuracy, accounting for 5–8 % of trait variance each.
Cross‑fostering: Offspring raised by unrelated dams display performance levels consistent with their biological parents, demonstrating limited maternal environmental influence on measured cognitive traits.

Environmental modulation remains detectable. Enrichment protocols elevate average task scores by 12–15 % regardless of genotype, yet interaction analyses reveal that high‑heritability strains benefit disproportionately, suggesting genotype‑by‑environment synergy.

Collectively, these findings establish that cognitive abilities in rats possess a measurable genetic basis, with heritability comparable to that observed in other mammals. Genetic architecture is polygenic, involving multiple neural‑development and synaptic‑plasticity genes, while environmental factors can amplify or attenuate genetically predisposed performance.

Impact of Enrichment on Brain Development

Research on rodent cognition frequently incorporates environmental manipulation to evaluate neural development. Enrichment refers to the systematic addition of objects, social partners, and spatial complexity that exceed the minimal requirements for survival.

Experimental groups receiving enriched housing exhibit increased dendritic branching in the prefrontal cortex, elevated hippocampal neurogenesis, and higher concentrations of brain‑derived neurotrophic factor. These neuroanatomical changes correspond with measurable improvements in maze navigation, object recognition, and reversal learning tasks.

Key outcomes documented across multiple laboratories include:

Greater synaptic density in the dentate gyrus.
Enhanced long‑term potentiation in the CA1 region.
Accelerated myelination of cortical axons.
Reduced latency in acquisition of operant conditioning protocols.

The convergence of structural, molecular, and behavioral data establishes enrichment as a potent driver of brain maturation in rats. Consequently, assessments of rodent intelligence must account for housing conditions, as enriched environments substantially elevate cognitive performance and neural plasticity.

Neural Correlates of Intelligence

Brain Structure and Plasticity

Rats possess a highly organized cerebral architecture that supports complex information processing. The neocortex consists of six distinct layers, each containing specific neuronal types that enable hierarchical integration of sensory input. The hippocampus, with its densely packed pyramidal cells, underlies spatial navigation and episodic-like memory formation. The prefrontal-like region, though less differentiated than in primates, contributes to decision‑making and behavioral flexibility. The basal ganglia and striatum coordinate motor planning and habit learning, while the olfactory bulb, disproportionately large in rodents, processes chemical cues essential for foraging and social interaction.

Neural plasticity in rats manifests at multiple levels. Synaptic strength adjusts rapidly through long‑term potentiation (LTP) and long‑term depression (LTD), providing a cellular substrate for learning. Adult neurogenesis occurs primarily in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, generating new granule cells that integrate into existing circuits. Experience‑dependent remodeling reshapes dendritic arborization and spine density, allowing adaptation to novel environments and tasks.

Key features of rat brain structure and plasticity that support advanced cognition include:

Layered neocortical organization enabling parallel processing
Hippocampal LTP/LTD mechanisms for rapid encoding
Ongoing dentate‑gyrus neurogenesis supplying fresh neuronal elements
Dynamic dendritic and spine modifications in response to behavioral demands

Collectively, these anatomical and physiological characteristics provide the substrate for the sophisticated problem‑solving and learning abilities documented in rodent intelligence research.

Neurotransmitters and Cognitive Function

Rats rely on a tightly regulated network of neurotransmitters to support learning, memory, and decision‑making. Dopamine drives reward‑based learning and reinforcement; elevated dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens predicts rapid acquisition of maze solutions. Acetylcholine enhances attention and synaptic plasticity; lesions to basal forebrain cholinergic neurons impair object recognition and decrease performance in delayed‑matching‑to‑sample tasks. Serotonin modulates mood and behavioral flexibility; selective serotonin reuptake inhibition improves reversal learning, allowing rats to adapt when reward contingencies change. Norepinephrine influences arousal and signal detection; activation of the locus coeruleus sharpens discrimination of relevant cues during operant conditioning. Glutamate, acting through NMDA receptors, is required for long‑term potentiation in the hippocampus; blockade of NMDA receptors blocks spatial memory formation in the Morris water maze. GABA provides inhibitory control that balances excitatory signaling; reduced GABAergic tone leads to hyperactivity and poorer task performance.

Key experimental observations:

Pharmacological enhancement of dopamine accelerates acquisition of complex foraging tasks.
Cholinergic antagonists produce deficits in delayed recall of object locations.
Serotonergic agents improve flexibility in set‑shifting paradigms.
Norepinephrine antagonists diminish detection of low‑probability cues in discrimination tests.
NMDA receptor antagonists abolish spatial learning in navigation assays.
GABA agonists restore performance after excitotoxic challenges.

Collectively, these findings demonstrate that specific neurotransmitter systems directly shape the cognitive capacities that enable rats to solve novel problems, adapt to changing environments, and exhibit sophisticated learning behaviors.

Comparative Intelligence: Rats vs. Other Animals

Similarities with Other Mammals

Rodents and Primates: A Cognitive Comparison

Rodent cognition demonstrates robust spatial navigation, rapid habituation, and flexible foraging strategies. Laboratory rats solve Morris water mazes and radial arm tasks with performance comparable to small primates on analogous spatial tests. Their ability to learn odor discriminations exceeds that of many primate species, reflecting a sensory specialization that supports efficient food localization.

Primates excel in abstract reasoning, tool manipulation, and long‑term social inference. Chimpanzees and capuchins use manufactured objects to obtain hidden rewards, a capacity rarely observed in rodents. In delayed‑response tasks, primates retain information over intervals exceeding thirty seconds, whereas rodent performance declines sharply after ten seconds without reinforcement.

Key comparative findings:

Memory duration – Primates maintain working memory for longer periods; rodents rely on short‑term, cue‑driven memory.
Problem‑solving flexibility – Primates adapt novel solutions across contexts; rodents often repeat learned patterns without modification.
Social cognition – Primates track hierarchical relationships and engage in intentional communication; rodents display limited dyadic signaling and simple dominance hierarchies.
Tool use – Documented in several primate taxa; absent in laboratory and wild rodents under comparable conditions.

Neurobiological data reveal parallel developments in prefrontal cortex size, synaptic density, and dopaminergic modulation, correlating with the observed behavioral disparities. Rodent prefrontal regions support rule learning and habit formation, while primate prefrontal networks enable complex planning and meta‑cognition.

Overall, rodents exhibit sophisticated learning within ecological niches, yet primates surpass them in domains requiring abstraction, prolonged memory, and cultural transmission.

Unique Aspects of Rat Cognition

Sensory Perception and Adaptation

Rats possess highly specialized sensory systems that support rapid assessment of complex environments. Vibrissae (whiskers) generate tactile maps through mechanoreceptors, enabling precise detection of object shape and position at millimeter resolution. Olfactory epithelium contains millions of receptor cells, providing discrimination of volatile compounds at parts‑per‑billion concentrations. Auditory cortex processes ultrasonic frequencies up to 100 kHz, facilitating communication and predator avoidance. Vision, though limited in acuity, is optimized for low‑light conditions, with a high proportion of rod photoreceptors.

Adaptation mechanisms translate sensory input into flexible behavior. Synaptic plasticity in the barrel cortex strengthens pathways linked to frequently encountered tactile patterns, improving texture discrimination over repeated exposure. Olfactory bulb neurogenesis introduces new receptor neurons, preserving sensitivity to novel odors. Auditory circuits exhibit frequency‑specific tuning adjustments after exposure to altered acoustic environments. These changes occur on timescales ranging from minutes (short‑term potentiation) to weeks (structural remodeling).

Integration of multimodal data drives problem‑solving abilities. Rats combine whisker feedback with olfactory cues to locate hidden food, adjust navigation routes in labyrinthine mazes, and modify foraging strategies under variable risk. Sensory-driven learning supports rapid adaptation to urban habitats, where altered soundscapes and novel chemical pollutants demand continuous recalibration of perceptual thresholds.

Key sensory adaptations include:

Whisker‑mediated tactile mapping with cortical expansion.
High‑sensitivity olfactory detection through receptor turnover.
Ultrasonic hearing with dynamic frequency tuning.
Low‑light vision supported by rod‑dominant retinas.

Practical Implications and Future Research

Animal Welfare and Research Ethics

Enhancing Enrichment for Laboratory Rats

Laboratory rats exhibit complex learning abilities, problem‑solving capacity, and social cognition; therefore, their welfare depends on environments that stimulate these traits. Enrichment interventions improve behavioral flexibility, reduce stereotypies, and enhance the validity of experimental outcomes by aligning housing conditions with naturalistic demands.

Effective enrichment combines physical, cognitive, and social components. Recommended elements include:

Nesting material such as shredded paper or cotton for construction of burrows.
Manipulable objects (e.g., wooden blocks, PVC tubes) that encourage exploration and problem solving.
Puzzle feeders that require effort to access food, fostering foraging behavior.
Group housing with compatible conspecifics to support social interaction.
Variable lighting and auditory stimuli that mimic natural cycles, preventing habituation.

Implementation should follow a systematic protocol: baseline behavior is recorded, enrichment items are introduced sequentially, and post‑implementation observations assess changes in activity patterns, stress markers, and task performance. Adjustments are made based on individual and group responses, ensuring that each component remains novel and challenging.

Research demonstrates that enriched housing produces measurable improvements in maze learning speed, memory retention, and neurochemical markers associated with cognition. By integrating these strategies, laboratories can elevate animal welfare while strengthening the reliability of data derived from rodent studies.

Applications in Neuroscience

Modeling Human Brain Disorders

Research on rodent cognition provides a practical platform for investigating human neurological conditions. Rats exhibit complex learning, memory, and problem‑solving abilities that parallel key aspects of human brain function, making them suitable proxies for disease modeling.

Experimental designs exploit these capabilities by introducing genetic mutations, pharmacological agents, or environmental stressors that replicate pathological features of disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder. Behavioral assays—including maze navigation, object recognition, and social interaction tests—quantify deficits that correspond to human symptomatology, while electrophysiological recordings and imaging techniques reveal underlying circuit alterations.

Key benefits of using rats for disorder modeling include:

Large, well‑characterized genome enabling precise gene editing.
Robust performance in tasks that assess executive function and working memory.
Physiological similarity to human neuroanatomy, particularly in prefrontal and hippocampal regions.
Feasibility of longitudinal studies due to relatively short lifespan and ease of handling.

Challenges remain in translating findings to human patients. Species‑specific differences in neurochemistry and social behavior can limit the generalizability of results. Moreover, the complexity of psychiatric conditions often exceeds the scope of single‑gene or single‑environment manipulations, requiring multifactorial experimental approaches.

Integrating rodent intelligence research with advanced genetic, pharmacological, and neuroimaging methods strengthens the predictive validity of rat models. This convergence accelerates the identification of therapeutic targets, improves the assessment of drug efficacy, and refines our understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie human brain disorders.

Unanswered Questions in Rodent Cognition

The Limits of Rat Learning

Rats exhibit robust associative learning, yet their performance declines when tasks exceed specific cognitive thresholds. Laboratory experiments reveal that rats quickly master simple discriminations—such as pressing a lever for food after a light cue—but struggle with multi‑step problem solving that requires planning across several contingencies.

Key constraints on rat learning include:

Working memory capacity – retention of information beyond a few seconds deteriorates, limiting sequential decision chains.
Abstract reasoning – tasks demanding relational concepts (e.g., “same‑different” judgments across novel stimuli) produce performance near chance levels.
Flexibility after rule change – reversal learning shows prolonged perseveration, indicating rigidity in adapting previously learned contingencies.
Sensory modality dependence – reliance on olfactory or tactile cues restricts transfer of knowledge to visual or auditory domains.
Neurobiological limits – hippocampal and prefrontal circuitry in rodents support spatial mapping and short‑term storage but lack the extensive cortical networks associated with higher‑order inference in larger mammals.

These boundaries arise from evolutionary trade‑offs that prioritize rapid, energy‑efficient learning of ecologically relevant patterns over the capacity for extensive abstraction. Consequently, while rats demonstrate sophisticated forms of cognition within defined parameters, their learning plateaus when confronted with tasks that surpass these innate and neurological limits.

Consciousness in Rats

Rats exhibit neural and behavioral signatures that satisfy contemporary criteria for consciousness. Electrophysiological recordings reveal widespread cortical activation during wakeful exploration, with gamma-band synchrony correlating with perceptual awareness. Lesion studies show that damage to the medial prefrontal cortex diminishes performance on tasks requiring flexible response selection, indicating this region’s involvement in conscious processing.

Behavioral experiments demonstrate metacognitive abilities. In a delayed matching-to-sample paradigm, rats voluntarily opt out of trials when uncertainty is high, adjusting their choice based on internal confidence estimates. This self‑monitoring mirrors the capacity to evaluate one’s own mental state, a cornerstone of conscious experience.

Evidence from pharmacological manipulation supports the link between consciousness and specific neurotransmitter systems. Administration of anesthetic agents that suppress thalamocortical connectivity leads to rapid loss of purposeful behavior, whereas reversible antagonists restore task engagement, confirming the dependence of conscious-like functions on intact thalamic gating.

Key empirical observations include:

Neural correlates: Persistent firing in the posterior parietal cortex during sustained attention tasks.
Metacognition: Opt‑out behavior reflecting uncertainty monitoring.
Pharmacology: Anesthetic‑induced disruption of thalamocortical loops abolishes conscious‑like responses.
Lesion effects: Prefrontal cortex damage reduces flexibility and self‑initiated problem solving.

Collectively, these findings establish rats as a viable model for investigating the mechanisms underlying conscious awareness, offering insight into the evolutionary roots of cognition across mammals.