Experimental Animals
Online ISSN : 1881-7122
Print ISSN : 1341-1357
ISSN-L : 0007-5124
Review
Morris water maze: a versatile and pertinent tool for assessing spatial learning and memory
Muhammad Zulfadhli OthmanZurina HassanAhmad Tarmizi Che Has
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JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2022 Volume 71 Issue 3 Pages 264-280

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Abstract

Since its development about 40 years ago (1981–2021), Morris water maze has turned into a very popular tool for assessing spatial learning and memory. Its many advantages have ensured its pertinence to date. These include its effectiveness in evaluating hippocampal-dependent learning and memory, exemption from motivational differences across diverse experimental manipulations, reliability in various cross-species studies, and adaptability to many experimental conditions with various test protocols. Nonetheless, throughout its establishment, several experimental and analysis loopholes have galvanized researchers to assess ways in which it could be improved and adapted to fill this gap. Therefore, in this review, we briefly summarize these developments since the early years of its establishment through to the most recent advancements in computerized analysis, offering more comprehensive analysis paradigms. In addition, we discuss the adaptability of the Morris water maze across different test versions and analysis paradigms, providing suggestions with regard to the best paradigms for particular experimental conditions. Hence, the proper selection of the experimental protocols, analysis paradigms, and consideration of the assay’s limitations should be carefully considered. Given that appropriate measures are taken, with various adaptations made, the Morris water maze will likely remain a relevant tool to assess the mechanisms of spatial learning and memory.

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© ©2022Japanese Association for Laboratory Animal Science

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons [Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International] license.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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