Have you ever wondered if animals know how to distinguish between different varieties of the same food or the same drink? At least in the case of the rats, the answer is “yes”, as demonstrated by an experiment described in a study published on Animal Cognitionin which a group of researchers from the University of Trento, in collaboration with that of Lincoln, in the United Kingdom, and that of Vienna subjected Nine rats to a sommelier test – passed with full votes, given that i Rodents have shown that they can distinguish between different varieties of white wine.
Sommelier test. The rats, read in the study, have a total of 1,200 genes related to the smell – To make a comparison, we humans “only” 400. On our side we obviously have an ability to process information and use it higher than that of rats (for example we can describe in different words or flavors): that’s why the sommelier profession is typically human, e It is not only a sensory but also linguistic question.
The team therefore wondered if the rats also have the same ability to discern shades of flavor and smell, and organized an experiment that has put nine specimens compared with Two different varieties of white wine, the Riesling and the Sauvignon Blanc. The rats learned to expect food only in the face of a specific variety, and therefore they had to get used to distinguishing between the two.
The tasting rat? The experiment went exceptionally well, so much so that the team then transformed it into a more active experience: the rats had to pull a lever when they were in front of the right wine, obtaining a sugar as a reward. Here too, the animals quickly learned the differences between Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, and therefore obtain the gift with a percentage of Success of 94%.
Increasingly difficult. At this point, the team further raised the difficulty, offering them new wines with flavors similar to those of the two varieties already identified. Here the percentage of identification is dropped at 65%: It remains very high, and indicates that the rats have been able to learn from previous experiences to recognize and catalog new perfumes. They will not yet be professional sommelier, but the road is the right one.
