Final answer:
The rodents used cognitive skills to escape NIMH by learning how to run through a maze in search of food rewards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rodents used their cognitive skills to escape NIMH. In maze running experiments conducted by H.C. Blodgett in the 1920s, rats were motivated to work their way through a maze by a piece of food at the end. The rats in Group I, who had food available each day, learned quickly and figured out how to run the maze in seven days. The rats in Group III, who had food available on the third day and every day thereafter, rapidly caught up to the control group when given the food reward. However, the rats in Group II, who were not fed for the first six days, learned very slowly and only began to catch up to the control group when food was given.