Social Influences on the Selection of a Protein-Sufficient Diet by Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus )

Investigated effects of interactions between naive and knowledgeable rats (Rattus norvegicus) on selection of a nutritionally adequate diet by the naive. We found that during a 7-day test, isolated rats choosing among 4 foods, 3 of which were protein-deficient and 1 of which was protein-rich, failed to learn to prefer the protein-rich diet and lost weight. Conversely, those rats that interacted with conspecifics trained to eat the protein-rich …