A new study was conducted which showed rats having feelings of regret just like humans over not eating a slice of cake.

A group of researchers found out after these rodents were given the chance of going inside a room containing different foods and skipped the good ones for the worse finds, actually felt remorse while glancing back to the former room. The rats who skipped the good finds also tolerated longer time of waiting to get back to the food they consider more desirable, said researchers.

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The researchers also cited the brain activity of the rats to be experiencing regret over their choice for the missed opportunity of getting good food.

The study entitled the journal “Nature Neuroscience” was conducted by University of Minnesota neuroscientist David Redish and his team. Redish said that their study showed that the activity of the rats showed that they regret “what might have been”.

The researchers also added that there had been no studies conducted showing any other animals besides humans to experience regret. However, other researches hinted that it might be possible with other animals.

Apparently, you cannot ask a rat if it regrets its choice of picking the worse food than the good finds. It is similar to getting an honest response from a human over a wrong decision.

Redish told Live Science that regret is different from disappointment and distinguishing one from the other is important. He said that regret happens when a wrong decision is made after realizing that there is an alternative action which could have been done to avoid an unlikely outcome. Furthermore, Redish added that disappointment differs after feeling that a choice has not become as good as what has been hoped for but not necessarily the fault of the one who made the choice in the first place.

The study on whether rats feel regret was conducted by Redish along with Adam Steiner, his graduate student. The two designed a kind of restaurant setting for the rodents with an enclosed pathway and dispensed with various kinds of food after some delays.

Redish continued explaining that after each rat passed the pathway, the rodent waited for the food. This was noticeable after the rat made a tone indicating the wait like that when waiting for the food you ordered in a restaurant. The neuroscientist also said that they found out that the rats used in their experiment had its own favorite picks like chocolate or bananas. Furthermore, he said that the rodents would even wait until they can finally get it and would simply go around the enclosed structure until their food choices were delivered.

The researchers said that if a rat would get worse food after bypassing the treat it liked in the first place, it would glance back and shows regret like most humans do. They also said that rats who behave like this are likely to get the worse deals in the future.

Aside from observing the rodents behavior, the researchers also conducted electrical recordings of the animals’ brain activity while engaging in the task. The electrical recordings were conducted in the orbitofrontal cortex of the rats. This is also the part where the rodents and even humans display feeling of regret shown through human brain scans. Redish said that from decoding the animals’ brain signals, they were able to read the rodents’ minds.

Redish also speculated that other animals are capable of feeling regret as the brain structures of humans and rats are also similar to other mammals.

Tagsrats, Live Science, Nature Neuroscience, David Redish, Adam Steiner