I am trying to assess spatial memory in MPTP induced Parkinson's disease C57Bl6 mice using a Morris water maze. I wanted to know if there are any specific dimensions to the MWM to be used. Most papers suggest using 120 cm diameter with 40 cm height . Has anyone used a maze smaller in diameter than this?
Hello, Geetha!
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MWM test
For the MWM test, a stainless steel cylindrical tank (120 cm in diameter) surrounded by a wall 40 cm high and filled with homothermal water (22°C) was used. A plastic platform, 8 cm in diameter, was submerged 1.5 cm below the water surface with its base fixed to the floor of the tank. Four large unique navigation markers were placed above the edge of each quadrant of the tank as geographical cues prior to releasing the animals into the water.
In the hidden platform acquisition test, on each of four consecutive days mice underwent four swimming sessions. For each session, the mice were placed facing the wall of the pool and released from a starting point pseudo-randomly chosen from the four predetermined positions into the water. The time mice spent to reach the platform was recorded as the escape latency. If any mouse failed to reach the platform within 60 sec, they were guided and placed on the platform for 20 sec by the experimenter and the escape latency was recorded as 60 sec. The platform location remained constant throughout the test. For a particular day for an individual mouse, the average time spent over the four sessions was utilized as the latency score. The 4 day averages were then measured for each group to evaluate spatial learning ability.
On the fifth day, an additional 1 min session occurred with the platform removed (probe session). The mice were placed in the diagonal quadrant of the hidden platform originally located. Site crossings (the number of times animals crossed the original platform location) were recorded and used to indicate the degree of memory maintenance.
The results were analyzed with the analysis system of Morris water Maze. Two series of MWM tests were conducted by two professional technicians who were blind to the treatments.
The first point that needs to be considered is if the size is making any difference! Yes, it will make a difference based on animal type. If you are using 25-30 gm mice, the mentioned size is appropriate.
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