BIOMAT Database Logo BIOMAT Database Logo

Effect of age on the radial arm water maze-a test of spatial learning and memory. 2004

Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
USDA-ARS, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA. barbara.hale@tufts.edu

Aged rats show decrements in performance on cognitive tasks that require the use of spatial learning and memory. We used the 8-arm radial water maze (RAWM) to measure spatial learning as a function of age in young (6 months) and old (21 months) male F344 rats. Rats were placed in the RAWM in different start arms with the same goal arm for 3 days (five trials/day); the goal arm was changed on day 4. Old rats demonstrated spatial impairment as evidenced by increased latencies to find the hidden platform on day 4. Old rats made significantly more errors, both reference and working memory errors, than young rats on all days. It is likely that the old rats utilized non-spatial strategies to solve the task, and therefore were impaired in learning a new platform location. The RAWM is a reliable, sensitive, and powerful additional test to assess age-related spatial learning and memory deficits, combining the advantages of the Morris water maze and the radial arm maze while minimizing the disadvantages.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008568 Memory Complex mental function having four distinct phases: (1) memorizing or learning, (2) retention, (3) recall, and (4) recognition. Clinically, it is usually subdivided into immediate, recent, and remote memory.
D011916 Rats, Inbred F344 An inbred strain of rat that is used for general BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH purposes. Fischer Rats,Rats, Inbred CDF,Rats, Inbred Fischer 344,Rats, F344,Rats, Inbred Fisher 344,CDF Rat, Inbred,CDF Rats, Inbred,F344 Rat,F344 Rat, Inbred,F344 Rats,F344 Rats, Inbred,Inbred CDF Rat,Inbred CDF Rats,Inbred F344 Rat,Inbred F344 Rats,Rat, F344,Rat, Inbred CDF,Rat, Inbred F344,Rats, Fischer
D011930 Reaction Time The time from the onset of a stimulus until a response is observed. Response Latency,Response Speed,Response Time,Latency, Response,Reaction Times,Response Latencies,Response Times,Speed, Response,Speeds, Response
D000375 Aging The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time. Senescence,Aging, Biological,Biological Aging
D000704 Analysis of Variance A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable. ANOVA,Analysis, Variance,Variance Analysis,Analyses, Variance,Variance Analyses
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013028 Space Perception The awareness of the spatial properties of objects; includes physical space. Perception, Space,Perceptions, Space,Space Perceptions
D013037 Spatial Behavior Reactions of an individual or groups of individuals with relation to the immediate surrounding area including the animate or inanimate objects within that area. Behavior, Spatial,Behaviors, Spatial,Spatial Behaviors
D051381 Rats The common name for the genus Rattus. Rattus,Rats, Laboratory,Rats, Norway,Rattus norvegicus,Laboratory Rat,Laboratory Rats,Norway Rat,Norway Rats,Rat,Rat, Laboratory,Rat, Norway,norvegicus, Rattus

Related Publications

Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Does the radial arm maze necessarily test spatial memory?
January 2003, Neurobiology of learning and memory,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Assessment of spatial memory using the radial arm maze and Morris water maze.
May 2004, Current protocols in neuroscience,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Non-spatial water radial-arm maze learning in mice.
April 2000, Brain research,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Spatial memory in pigeons on a four-arm radial maze.
March 1988, Canadian journal of psychology,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Spatial pattern learning in the radial arm maze.
February 2006, Learning & behavior,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Spatial Learning and Memory Using a Radial Arm Maze with a Head-Mounted Display.
October 2018, Psychiatry investigation,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Exercise influences spatial learning in the radial arm maze.
September 2000, Physiology & behavior,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Exposing rats to a predator impairs spatial working memory in the radial arm water maze.
January 1999, Hippocampus,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Automated radial 8-arm maze: A voluntary and stress-free behavior test to assess spatial learning and memory in mice.
March 2020, Behavioural brain research,
Barbara Shukitt-Hale, and John J McEwen, and Aleksandra Szprengiel, and James A Joseph
Effects of Ginkgo biloba administered after spatial learning on water maze and radial arm maze performance in young adult rats.
May 2006, Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior,
Copied contents to your clipboard!