Water maze as a device used to test the spatial learning and memory in rats. Many water mazes exsit other water maze techniques have been developed, such as the radial arm water maze, the Y or T maze alteration, the barnes maze, and a virtual water maze (vMWM).The development of these mazes has made it possible for looking into hippocampal synaptic plasticity, NMDA receptor function, and looking into neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease[1].
Overview of Technique
editA basic water maze involves placing a rat or mouse into a opaque pool of water and watching their attempt escape onto a hidden or stationary platform. The animals spatial learning is monitored by their escape behavior: random or spatial positioning.[2] Different protocols can b changed to test changes in learning and memory including spatial reversal, spatial working memory, cued learning , Spatial double-reversal with a smaller platform, spatial acquisition, repeated learning, discrimination learning, and latent learning. [3]
Types
editThe radial arm maze (RAM) tests both spatial and associative learning using a 8-armed maze with a platform in the middle. Unlike the water maze, in RAM food is used as the motivation and it involves slow learning using a repeated measures design.[4]
Y maze alteration
The Y maze is a three- armed maze with platform in the middle is used to test cognition in rats. [5]
T maze alteration
A T-shaped maze giving on-way access to platform to asses spatial learning and memory.[5]
The Barnes maze is a dry maze test which is a lit circular platform with holes in it that leads to a dark chamber. This maze also tests spacial learning and memory, but unlike the Morris water maze and other water maze alterations no strong stimulation (i.e. water or shock) is used on mice during experiment, but some weak stimulations , like a buzzer, may be used.[6]Kbraxton (talk) 06:05, 19 November 2016 (UTC)
Virtual water maze
A virtual water maze (vMWM) is a a 3-Dimensional computerized version of the Morris water maze that test spatial and place learning in humans. In this water maze there is ability to manipulate the environment (i.e. hidden and/ or stationary platform or landmark cues).[7]
Applications
editWater maze testing can be used to look at various brain regions including:
- The hippocampus for testing dependent learning or to test neurogenesis and ,synaptic plasticity in the region and how it correlates to memory and learning. [8]
- The striatum's involvement with procedural aspects of water maze learning,
- The basal forebrain, which shows damage to this region can cause loss in learning during hidden platform and probe trials, where rodent is allowed to freely roam to get a sense of the water maze.
- The cerebellum although the role in water maze testing is not well know, but in general damage to this region can lead to changes in learning.
- The neocortex is involved in general memory and learning.
The water maze can be used to see what drugs effect various parts of the nervous system involved in learning and memory
- NMDA receptor is involved in place learning rather than memory.
Water maze can be useful in looking for treatments/or models for diseases associated with the nervous system including:
- Alzheimer's disease and looking at electroacupuncture as a treatment option.[9]
- Multiple sclerosis and how a ketogenic diet (KD) can effect memory and spacial impairment via central nervous system-inflammation.[10]
- Huntington;s disease which can be modeled in mice when quinolinic acid is administered .[11]
Water maze can be used to identify similarities and/ or differences in cognition and learning in the sexes.[12][13][14]
References
edit- ^ Vorhees, Charles V; Williams, Michael T. "Morris water maze: procedures for assessing spatial and related forms of learning and memory". Nature Protocols. 1 (2): 848–858. doi:10.1038/nprot.2006.116. PMC 2895266. PMID 17406317.
- ^ Morris, Richard (1984-05-01). "Developments of a water-maze procedure for studying spatial learning in the rat". Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 11 (1): 47–60. doi:10.1016/0165-0270(84)90007-4.
- ^ Vorhees, Charles V; Williams, Michael T. "Morris water maze: procedures for assessing spatial and related forms of learning and memory". Nature Protocols. 1 (2): 848–858. doi:10.1038/nprot.2006.116. PMC 2895266. PMID 17406317.
- ^ Hodges, Helen (1996-06-01). "Maze procedures: the radial-arm and water maze compared". Cognitive Brain Research. Proceedings of the Fifth International Meeting of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS). 3 (3–4): 167–181. doi:10.1016/0926-6410(96)00004-3.
- ^ a b Sarah, Stewart,; Francesca, Cacucci,; Colin, Lever, (2011-01-01). "Which Memory Task for My Mouse? A Systematic Review of Spatial Memory Performance in the Tg2576 Alzheimer's Mouse Model". Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 26 (1). doi:10.3233/jad-2011-101827. ISSN 1387-2877.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Sunyer, Berta; Patil, Sudarshan; Höger, Harald; Luber, Gert. "Barnes maze, a useful task to assess spatial reference memory in the mice". Protocol Exchange. doi:10.1038/nprot.2007.390.
- ^ Hamilton, Derek A; Driscoll, Ira; Sutherland, Robert J (2002-02-01). "Human place learning in a virtual Morris water task: some important constraints on the flexibility of place navigation". Behavioural Brain Research. 129 (1–2): 159–170. doi:10.1016/S0166-4328(01)00343-6.
- ^ Drapeau, Elodie; Mayo, Willy; Aurousseau, Catherine; Moal, Michel Le; Piazza, Pier-Vincenzo; Abrous, Djoher Nora (2003-11-25). "Spatial memory performances of aged rats in the water maze predict levels of hippocampal neurogenesis". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 100 (24): 14385–14390. doi:10.1073/pnas.2334169100. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 283601. PMID 14614143.
- ^ Jiang, Jing; Gao, Kai; Zhou, Yuan; Xu, Anping; Shi, Suhua; Liu, Gang; Li, Zhigang (2015-03-03). "Electroacupuncture Treatment Improves Learning-Memory Ability and Brain Glucose Metabolism in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease: Using Morris Water Maze and Micro-PET". Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2015: 1–7. doi:10.1155/2015/142129. ISSN 1741-427X. PMC 4363614. PMID 25821477.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Kim, Do Young; Hao, Junwei; Liu, Ruolan; Turner, Gregory; Shi, Fu-Dong; Rho, Jong M. (2012-05-02). "Inflammation-Mediated Memory Dysfunction and Effects of a Ketogenic Diet in a Murine Model of Multiple Sclerosis". PLOS ONE. 7 (5): e35476. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035476. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3342287. PMID 22567104.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Shear, Deborah A.; Dong, Jie; Haik-Creguer, Kristi L.; Bazzett, Terence J.; Albin, Roger L.; Dunbar, Gary L. (1998-04-01). "Chronic Administration of Quinolinic Acid in the Rat Striatum Causes Spatial Learning Deficits in a Radial Arm Water Maze Task". Experimental Neurology. 150 (2): 305–311. doi:10.1006/exnr.1998.6767.
- ^ Healy, Susan D.; Braham, Susanna R.; Braithwaite, Victoria A. (1999-11-22). "Spatial working memory in rats: no differences between the sexes". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 266 (1435): 2303–2308. doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0923. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 1690445. PMID 10629980.
- ^ Baldan Ramsey, Lissandra C.; Pittenger, Christopher (2010-10-11). "Cued and spatial learning in the water maze: Equivalent learning in male and female mice". Neuroscience Letters. 483 (2): 148–151. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2010.07.082. PMC 2933314. PMID 20691760.
- ^ Daugherty, Ana M.; Yuan, Peng; Dahle, Cheryl L.; Bender, Andrew R.; Yang, Yiqin; Raz, Naftali. "Path Complexity in Virtual Water Maze Navigation: Differential Associations with Age, Sex, and Regional Brain Volume". Cerebral Cortex. 25 (9): 3122–3131. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhu107. PMC 4537448. PMID 24860019.