A study found that rats with impulsive tendencies tend to have poorer working memories. In humans, scientists define working memory as the ability to hold details like a name or phone number in mind. On the other hand, rats that avoided risky situations tended to have poor cognitive flexibility, which in this case means they were unable to learn a new way to get a food pellet after they had been trained to expect it from a different lever. By studying the rats’ behavior, the researchers are examining the ways impulsivity, working memory and cognitive flexibility may or may not interact.