Editing Rat (section)

===General intelligence===
<!-- This header is linked in [[Intelligence]], [[Mammal]], [[Animal cognition]], and [[Neuroscience and intelligence]]; if renamed, please update links! -->
Early studies found evidence both for and against measurable intelligence using the [[g factor (psychometrics)|"g factor"]] in rats.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lashley |first1=K. S. |title=Brain mechanisms and intelligence: A quantitative study of injuries to the brain |date=1929 |doi=10.1037/10017-000 }}{{pn|date=March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thorndike |first1=R. L. |date=1935 |title=Organization of behavior in the albino rat |journal=Genetic Psychology Monographs |volume=17 |pages=1–70 }}</ref> Part of the difficulty of understanding [[animal cognition]], generally, is determining what to measure.<ref name=Matzel2017>{{cite journal |last1=Matzel |first1=LD |last2=Sauce |first2=B |title=Individual differences: Case studies of rodent and primate intelligence |journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition |date=October 2017 |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=325–340 |doi=10.1037/xan0000152 |pmid=28981308 |pmc=5646700 }}</ref> One aspect of intelligence is the ability to learn, which can be measured using a maze like the [[T-maze]].<ref name=Matzel2017/> Experiments done in the 1920s showed that some rats performed better than others in maze tests, and if these rats were selectively bred, their offspring also performed better, suggesting that in rats an ability to learn was heritable in some way.<ref name=Matzel2017/>