Morris water maze

This is a wild type mouse showing spatial learning over a 5 day period in a Morris water maze.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Morris
• water
• maze
• neuroscience
• behavior
• learning
• memory
• Rhodes
• College

[Neuroslicer]

powdered milk spoils quickly, smells bad

[Neuroslicer]

white tempura paint powder colored the water. this was done very low tech (aka cheap!). I videotaped the mouse swimming, replayed the tape on a monitor... traced over the path by placing a clear film on the monitor and drawing on the film... then i digitized the trace using a drawing tablet and computer

[cambriangirl1]

Interesting study, but you really should not pick them up by the tail - it damages the spine (and aside from the ethical reasons, isn't the whole point of a reliable study to have them in good health throughout so as not to bias results?)

[TheScappru]

It's not "just a spot the rat has to learn where to stop..."

it infers that rodents have episode-like memory too - just like humans

[UnstableUranium]

I don't understand what the hidden platform IS. Is there no physical difference to it? Just a spot where the rat has to learn where to stop in order to have learned how to get out?

[IaIaCthulhuFthagn]

Cool vid. Is this typical of a mouse? Do they typically show that kind of progress in 10 trials? Also, was that a C57BL/6 mouse or some other strain?

[organiclead]

Where I go we use Accutrak...seems to work alright, unless you get your hand/body in the way when dropping the guys in and pressing the clicker (which starts the tracking.) We also use white nontoxic kiddie paint to color the water. I can't imagine doing this by hand! Our system records the distance/time/speed/time spent in each quadrant/lots of other data (you probably won't use.)

[IvyCat711]

wow. its amazing by how much progress he made.