They were developed in 2002 by Sanjiv Talwar and John Chapin at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center.
"[1] Researchers tend to liken the training mechanism of the robo-rat to standard operant conditioning techniques.
Talwar himself has acknowledged the ethical issues apparent in the development of the robo-rat, but points out that the research meets standards for animal treatment laid down by the National Institute of Health.
[1] The technology is reminiscent of experiments performed in 1965 by Dr. Jose Delgado, a controversial scientist who was able to pacify a charging bull via electrodes fitted in its brain.
"[3] Doctor Robert Galbraith Heath also placed electrodes deep into the brains of patients and wrote hundreds of medical papers on his work.