Previous Training in the Water Maze

Vicens, Paloma; Bernal, M Consuelo; Carrasco, M.C.; Redolat, Rosa

doi:10.1016/s0031-9384(99)00059-1

Cited by 30 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…This indicates that inferior learners benefit substantially from repetitive training in the MWM, and that this training can enhance cognitive abilities from an early age to prevent against age-related cognitive decline. This data supports other studies that have shown that previous training can prevent age-related decline in Morris water maze performance [9,32,41,42]. …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…4A, paired-test, t = 7.130, df = 2, p < 0.05). This is consistent with other studies that have shown that training can improve performance in the Morris water maze [9,32,41,42]. To investigate the extent to which training could improve performance on the water maze at 12 months of age, we conducted the water maze in naïve 12-month old rats that had not previously been exposed to the maze.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

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Learning impairments identified early in life are predictive of future impairments associated with aging

Hullinger

Bürger

2015

Behavioural Brain Research

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The Morris water maze (MWM) behavioral paradigm is commonly used to measure spatial learning and memory in rodents. It is widely accepted that performance in the MWM declines with age. However, young rats ubiquitously perform very well on established versions of the water maze, suggesting that more challenging tasks may be required to reveal subtle differences in young animals. Therefore, we have used a one-day water maze and novel object recognition to test whether more sensitive paradigms of memory in young animals could identify subtle cognitive impairments early in life that might become accentuated later with senescence. We have found that these two tasks reliably separate young rats into inferior and superior learners, are highly correlated, and that performance on these tasks early in life is predictive of performance at 12 months of age. Furthermore, we have found that repeated training in this task selectively improves the performance of inferior learners, suggesting that behavioral training from an early age may provide a buffer against age-related cognitive decline.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

Learning impairments identified early in life are predictive of future impairments associated with aging

Hullinger

Bürger

2015

Behavioural Brain Research

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“…The effect of prior experience in the test is another factor to consider when undertaking animal model assessment. A retest can impact performance, fluctuating based on mouse strain characteristics [39]. Longitudinal studies involving models of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) [40,41] observed remarkable test performance stability, suggesting a potential training influence from the repeated test battery administration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Ordered Beta Regression Unveils Cognitive Flexibility Index and Longitudinal Cognitive Training Signatures in Normal and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathological Aging

Alveal-Mellado,

Giménez-Llort

2024

Brain Sciences

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Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) are a cornerstone data analysis strategy in behavioral research because of their robustness in handling non-normally distributed variables. Recently, their integration with ordered beta regression (OBR), a novel statistical tool for managing percentage data, has opened new avenues for analyzing continuous response data. Here, we applied this combined approach to investigate nuanced differences between the 3xTg-AD model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and their C57BL/6 non-transgenic (NTg) counterparts with normal aging in a 5-day Morris Water Maze (MWM) test protocol. Our longitudinal study included 22 3xTg-AD mice and 15 NTg mice (both male and female) assessed at 12 and 16 months of age. By identifying and analyzing multiple swimming strategies during three different paradigms (cue, place task, and removal), we uncovered genotypic differences in all paradigms. Thus, the NTg group exhibited a higher percentage of direct search behaviors, while an association between circling episodes and 3xTg-AD animals was found. Furthermore, we also propose a novel metric—the “Cognitive Flexibility Index”—which proved sensitive in detecting sex-related differences. Overall, our integrated GLMMs-OBR approach provides a comprehensive insight into mouse behavior in the MWM test, shedding light on the effects of aging and AD pathology.

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“…In the former, we compared the performance of two mouse strains (NMRI and C57BL/6); in the latter, we compared releasing the mouse from a start box or the hand of the experimenter. We chose these mouse strains because C57BL6/J and MRI mice are commonly used in the literature, and there are some studies comparing their navigational-learning capabilities in the Morris water maze [17][18][19][20]; however, no direct comparison has been made in the Barnes maze so far.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Appetitive Motivation to Train Mice for Spatial Learning in the Barnes Maze

Tajti,

Yoon,

Ernyey

et al. 2023

BioMed Research International

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The Barnes maze, a well-known spatial-learning paradigm, is based on the innate fear of rodents of large open spaces and their drive to hide. However, additional aversive stimuli (strong light and threatening sounds) are often necessary to provoke the hiding response while rendering the method cumbersome and more stressful. Our objective was to establish a Barnes maze-learning paradigm in mice using palatable food as a reward. After habituating male C57BL6/J or NMRI mice to the reward, the experimenter and the apparatus, either a slow (2 trials/day) or a massive conditioning schedule (4 trials/day), was run. Acquisition training was carried out until mice could locate the reward box with a maximum of one hole error. Then, the box was replaced to another location (reversal phase). Mice needed to relearn the new position with the same criterion. One week later, retention trials were performed. Both strains could reach the learning criteria; in the massive training within a shorter period. Spatial memory was demonstrated in the reversal and retention trials. Our results show that palatable food can be used as an efficient motivator to acquire allocentric navigation in the Barnes maze with the additional advantage of being less stressful.

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Previous Training in the Water Maze

Cited by 30 publications

References 37 publications

Learning impairments identified early in life are predictive of future impairments associated with aging

Learning impairments identified early in life are predictive of future impairments associated with aging

Use of Ordered Beta Regression Unveils Cognitive Flexibility Index and Longitudinal Cognitive Training Signatures in Normal and Alzheimer’s Disease Pathological Aging

Using Appetitive Motivation to Train Mice for Spatial Learning in the Barnes Maze

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