Cognition – Morris Water Maze
Click here to view other Alzheimer’s disease models
The Morris water maze test is used to assess hippocampal-dependent spatial learning and memory. It is a common assay used to characterize different cognitive disease models, such as Alzheimer’s disease, and to differentiate the effects of drugs across several stages of learning and memory (e.g., encoding, consolidation and retrieval). The water maze consists of a water-filled pool with a hidden escape platform and multiple extra-maze visual cues. Over the course of several days rodents learn to find the hidden platform in order to escape from the water. After acquisition training, animals are given a probe trial where the platform is removed and memory for platform location is assessed by quantifying the time spent in the maze quadrant that previously contained the platform (‘target quadrant’)
Repeated treatment with the amnestic scopolamine during training impairs acquisition memory for the platform location. Normal acquisition is observed in the vehicle-treated rats as a decrease in latency to find the platform over 5 days of training.
Rats treated with scopolamine (2 mg/kg) during training show impairment in reference memory as indicated by significantly decreased time spent in the correct quadrant during the drug-free probe test. They also show significantly increased time spent in the opposite quadrant. Asterisk (***p<0.001) indicates a significant difference compared to vehicle.
Click here for more validation data.
Pretreatment of mice with the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine during training increased memory index in the probe trial (drug-free), indicating enhanced memory recall.
