Given that your n is quite low, I think it wouldn't hurt to do an OFT to strengthen your findings. It should be relatively inexpensive and not very time consuming (can probably run a 10-15 minutes test if you do not wish to run a full 30 minutes test

Hi,

your n is too low. If I would review your manuscript I would ask you to at least double the n.

I do not think an OFT is needed though. Swim speed should suffice. If you really want to test the ability to coordinate movement properly a rotarod test would be better.

Finally, have a look at this paper. They use an adapted watermaze that essentially turns the question into a multiple choice question. The animals have to choose an arm instead of navigating through open space. This helped distinguish between a motor deficit and a spatial memory deficit.

Article Spatial navigation impairment in mice lacking cerebellar LTD...

best

Nils

Open-field test is easy to do but you should do it before learning and after learning because learning affects ambulation in open field according to my PhD thesis. In these papers you see the linear maze we used as well as the open-field for mice.

I want to add the possibility of doing a visual water maze as a control. Here the animals have to find the platform that is clearly marked by a 'flag' that stick out above water. Ideally there should be no distal visual cues. The platform should be in a different position each trial. If both groups find the platform with similar latencies, their motivation, their ability to locate a platform using their vision and their motor skills are similar.

Why bother with water when you can do it simply in a linear maze without water?

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