Morris water maze usually used for assessment long-term spatial memory during acquisition trial (Usually it is 24 hours or more after training). Can I use the Morris water maze test for assessment short-term spatial memory during acquisition trial? If so, which delay time will be optimal? And is it possible to evaluate both short-term and long-term memory on one animal group? The number of studies using this model is very limited.
I do not pretend to be an expert in the Morris Water Maze! But I can see no reason why you should not try this. As for the optimal time interval, I'd suggest that this is an opportunity to learn more about short-term/working memory in rats. You should try different delays, ranging from immediate on up, until you reach an interval long enough that no residual memory remains to assist the rat in its search for a secure base.
But still. If I want to evaluate both short-term and long-term memory in one experiment (without relocation of the platform). Should I also have a trial (with platform) between probe trials?
You can assess performance at different retention delays, using a delayed-matching-to-place paradigm that uses variable goal locations.
Please see, for example, da Silva, Bast, Morris, 2014, Learn Memory, for how performance at different retention delays can be compared:
http://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/21/1/28.full.html
If you only use one platform, I'm afraid the interpretation of your tests at different retention delays will be confounded by the different number of acquisition trials that rats will have received at the different retention intervals (if you include additional training trials with platform) or by extinction (if you simply run two probes at two different retention delays).
Yes you can but you may want to keep the testing periods quite short so that you can distinguish between short-term and long-term memory. This youttube video may be helpful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leHLL4vcbCc
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