Morris water maze experiment notes

Morris Water Maze:
The Morris water maze was invented by Morris in 1981 [1]. The method we use is mainly based on [2]. It is divided into a five-day positioning navigation test and a one-day space exploration test.

Quadrant setting: On the upper edge of the Morris pool, equidistantly set the four points of the east, south, west and north as the water inlet points of the animal inlet pool, and the water points at the projection points of the four water inlet points on the water surface and the bottom of the bucket. It is equal to the four quadrants of the bucket section.

Platform setting: According to the experimental requirements, the platform can be arbitrarily set in the middle of a certain quadrant. The general platform is hidden 1~2 cm below the water surface. Do not exceed 2cm, preferably 1 cm.

Water temperature: The water temperature is kept at 22 °C.

Rat delivery sequence: Each rat was trained 4 times a day. On the first day, the rats were placed in the pool at the four inlet points of the east, west, south and north (the heads were gently placed in the pool wall). The next day is in the direction of West, South, North, and East. On the third day, follow the directions of South, North, East, and West. On the fourth day, follow the direction of North, East, West, and South. On the fifth day, press the direction of East, West, South and North. On the sixth day of the space exploration test, the input point is the opposite side of the quadrant where the platform is located.

Time setting: If the animal fails to find the platform in the pool within 90 s of swimming into the water or fails to climb the platform, the main tester can place the animal on the platform for 15 s to make the animal feel the feeling on the platform. , recognizing the spatial location of the platform. After the animals climbed onto the platform, let the animals stand on the platform for 10 s. The rats were taken off the platform and rested for another 30 to 60 s before the next training.

Precautions:
1. Be gentle when placing rats and avoid stress. Keep your head up and avoid getting wet.

2. Rats are administered by the same laboratory personnel and cannot be replaced. The rats were stroked daily before the formal experiment to familiarize the rats with odor and avoid stress.

3. When the mouse is put into the pool, the experimental operator should kneel down immediately, and the mouse should not be used as a reference object, because the experimenter is constantly moving inside, affecting the spatial orientation of the mouse.

4. Before the water maze is officially put, put the mice in each group into the pool and let it swim for 2 minutes, on the one hand, to let them know that there is no escapeable exit in the pool, and on the other hand, to eliminate individual ones. Swimming the mouse so as not to disturb the data behind.

5. Do not open the phone, do not speak, try to gesture, avoid sound interference.