Name: morris water maze experiment
Uploaded: 2008-09-24T00:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Morris Water Maze Experiment at JoVE.com

JLN was supported by MH 68347.

Setting up the water maze
<ol>
<li>The main component of the water maze set up should be a round pool, about 6 feet in diameter and about 3 feet deep. If you are recording the task with a video camera, make sure all sides of the maze are within the camera&rsquo;s field of view.</li>
<li>Fill up the water maze with tap water, which should be close to 26&deg;C. This may take several hours, so should be done well in advance. Periodically check the water temperature so that it is within one degree of 26&deg;C.</li>
<li>Plac...

<ol>
	<li>de Bruin, J. P., Swinkels, W. A., de Brabander, J. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Response+learning+of+rats+in+a+Morris+water+maze:+involvement+of+the+medial+prefrontal+cortex.">Response learning of rats in a Morris water maze: involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex.</a> Behav. Brain Res. 85, 47-55 (1997).</li><li>Redish, A. D., Touretzky, D. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+role+of+the+hippocampus+in+solving+the+Morris+water+maze.">The role of the hippocampus in solving the Morris water maze.</a> Neural. Comput. 1, 73-111 (1998).</li><li>D'Hooge, R., De Deyn, P. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Applications+of+the+Morris+water+maze+in+the+study+of+learning+and+memory.">Applications of the Morris water maze in the study of learning and memory.</a> Brain Res. Rev. 36, 60-90 (2001).</li><li>Kallai, J., Makany, T., Karadi, K., Jacobs, W. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Spatial+orientation+strategies+in+Morris-type+virtual+water+task+for+humans.">Spatial orientation strategies in Morris-type virtual water task for humans.</a> Behav. Brain Res. 159, 187-196 (2005).</li><li>Morris, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Developments+of+a+water-maze+procedure+for+studying+spatial+learning+in+the+rat.">Developments of a water-maze procedure for studying spatial learning in the rat.</a> J. Neurosci. Methods. 11, 47-60 (1984).</li><li>Brandeis, R., Brandys, Y., Yehuda, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+use+of+the+Morris+Water+Maze+in+the+study+of+learning+and+memory.">The use of the Morris Water Maze in the study of learning and memory.</a> Int. J. Neurosci. 48, 26-69 (1989).</li><li>Kesner, R. P., Exans, R. B., Hunt, M. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Further+evidence+in+support+of+the+neurobiological+bases+of+an+attribute+model+of+memory:+role+of+the+hippocampus.">Further evidence in support of the neurobiological bases of an attribute model of memory: role of the hippocampus.</a> Int. J. Neurosci. 21-22, 21-22 (1987-8).</li><li>Jarrard, L. E., Okaichi, H., Steward, O., Goldschmidt, R. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=On+the+role+of+hippocampal+connections+in+the+performance+of+place+and+cue+tasks:+comparisons+with+damage+to+the+hippocampus.">On the role of hippocampal connections in the performance of place and cue tasks: comparisons with damage to the hippocampus.</a> Behav. Neurosci. 98, 946-954 (1984).</li><li>Hodges, H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Maze+procedures:+the+radial-arm+and+water+maze+compared.">Maze procedures: the radial-arm and water maze compared.</a> Cogn. Brain Res. 3, 167-181 (1996).</li><li>Shumake, J., Gonzalez-Lima, F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Brain+systems+underlying+susceptibility+to+helplessness+and+depression.">Brain systems underlying susceptibility to helplessness and depression.</a> Behav. Cogn. Neurosci. Rev. 2, 198-221 (2003).</li><li>Owen, J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Physiology+of+the+menstrual+cycle.">Physiology of the menstrual cycle.</a> Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 28, 333-338 (1975).</li><li>Everett, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Neurobiology+of+reproduction+in+the+female+rat.">Neurobiology of reproduction in the female rat.</a> Monogr. Endocrinol. 32, 1-133 (1989).</li><li>Warren, S. G., Humphreys, A. G., Juraska, J. M., Greenough, W. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=LTP+varies+across+the+estrous+cycle:+enhanced+synaptic+plasticity+in+proestrus+rats.">LTP varies across the estrous cycle: enhanced synaptic plasticity in proestrus rats.</a> Brain Res. 703, 26-30 (1995).</li><li>Warren, S. G., Juraska, J. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Spatial+and+nonspatial+learning+across+the+rat+estrous+cycle.">Spatial and nonspatial learning across the rat estrous cycle.</a> Behav. Neurosci. 111, 259-266 (1997).</li></ol>

The water maze task was development by Morris 5. This task can be altered in numerous ways to investigate working memory, reference memory and task strategy 6. The procedure described here contains two critical variables which represent a deviation from other versions of the water maze: pretraining, and testing on a single day.
Pretraining - the hippocampus is involved in spatial/relational memory 7-8. The water maze specifically tests spatial...

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">	
		
		<div>
		<table border="1">
		<thead>
		<tr>
		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
		</thead>
		<tbody>
		
<tr>
<td>SMART System</td>
<td>San Diego Instruments</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>This system is not a requirement &#x2013; there are many other behavioral systems on the market.</td>
</tr>		</tbody>
		</table>
		</div>

morris water maze experiment

The Morris water maze is widely used to study spatial memory and learning. Animals are placed in a pool of water that is colored opaque with powdered non-fat milk or non-toxic tempera paint, where they must swim to a hidden escape platform. Because they are in opaque water, the animals cannot see the platform, and cannot rely on scent to find the escape route. Instead, they must rely on external/extra-maze cues. As the animals become more familiar with the task, they are able to find the platform more quickly. Developed by Richard G. Morris in 1984, this paradigm has become one of the "gold standards" of behavioral neuroscience.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Morris Water Maze Experiment at JoVE.com

Morris Water Maze Experiment

The Morris water maze is a well-accepted tool used to document the involvement of the hippocampus in a behavioral task.

The Morris water maze is widely used to study spatial memory and learning. Animals are placed in a pool of water that is colored opaque with powdered ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Testing Nicotine Tolerance in Aphids Using an Artificial Diet Experiment

Plants may upregulate the production of many different seconday metabolites in response to insect feeding. One of these metabolites, nicotine, is well ...

Elevated Plus Maze for Mice

Although the mouse genome is now completely sequenced, the functions of most of the genes expressed in the brain are not known. The influence of a given ...

Techniques for Imaging Ca2+ Signaling in Human Sperm

Techniques for Imaging Ca2+ Signaling in Human Sperm

Fluorescence microscopy of cells loaded with fluorescent, Ca2+-sensitive dyes is used for measurement of spatial and temporal aspects of Ca2+ signaling in ...

Bioenergetic Profile Experiment using C2C12 Myoblast Cells

The ability to measure cellular metabolism and understand mitochondrial dysfunction, has enabled scientists worldwide to advance their research in ...

GC-based Detection of Aldononitrile Acetate Derivatized Glucosamine and Muramic Acid for Microbial Residue Determination in Soil

GC-baseret detektion af Aldononitrile Acetat Derivatiseret Glucosamin og Muramic Acid for Mikrobiel Rest bestemmelse i jord

Quantitative approaches to characterizing microorganisms are crucial for a broader understanding of the microbial status and function within ecosystems. ...

Protease- and Acid-catalyzed Labeling Workflows Employing 18O-enriched Water

Protease- and Acid-catalyzed Labeling Workflows Employing 18O-enriched Water

Protease-og syrekatalyseret Mærkning arbejdsgange Anvender<sup&gt; 18</sup&gt; O-beriget Water

Stable isotopes are essential tools in biological mass spectrometry. Historically, 18O-stable isotopes have been extensively used to study the catalytic ...

A Semi-quantitative Approach to Assess Biofilm Formation Using Wrinkled Colony Development

En semi-kvantitativ tilgang til Vurdere biofilmdannelse Brug Rynket Colony Udvikling

Biofilms, or surface-attached communities of cells encapsulated in an extracellular matrix, represent a common lifestyle for many bacteria. Within a ...

Isolation and Culture of Neonatal Mouse Cardiomyocytes

Isolering og dyrkning af Neonatal Mouse cardiomyocytes

Cultured neonatal cardiomyocytes have long been used to study  myofibrillogenesis and myofibrillar functions. Cultured cardiomyocytes allow  for easy ...

High Content Screening Analysis to Evaluate the Toxicological Effects of Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents (HPHC)

High Content Screening Analysis to Evaluate the Toxicological Effects of Harmful and Potentially Harmful Constituents HPHC

Høj Content Screening Analyse til at vurdere toksikologiske virkninger af skadelige og potentielt skadelige Bestanddele (HPHC)

Cigarette smoke (CS) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and lung diseases. Because CS is a complex aerosol containing more than 7,000 chemicals1 it ...

Isolation of Mouse Epidermal Keratinocytes and Their In Vitro Clonogenic Culture

Isolering af mus epidermal keratinocytter og deres in vitro-Clonogen kultur

The protocol described here is a reliable method of harvesting primary keratinocytes from adult female mice (54 &#177; 2 days old) yielding approximately ...