In his surrealistic novel Naked Lunch (1959) U.S. novelist W. S. Burroughs frequently evokes the idea of a completely hopeless situation causing spontaneous death, citing the example of what he calls "the jungle rat."

Here's a characteristic example:

Quote:

During my rather brief experience as a psychoanalyst—spot of bother with the Society—one patient ran amok in Grand Central with a flame thrower, two committed suicide and one died on the couch like a jungle rat (jungle rats are subject to die if confronted suddenly with a hopeless situation. [p. 23]



Is this pseudo-zoology or does it have some basis in reality? If yes, what animal is the jungle rat; and is there a term to describe the phenomenon?