Innovative use of the water maze to assess neurocognitive abilities in laboratory rodents

The water maze was described more than twenty years ago to assess spatial learning and memory in laboratory rodents (Morris, 1981), and it has become one of the most frequently used laboratory tools in behavioral neuroscience (D'Hooge and De Deyn, 2001). Work using the water maze has shown that the integrity of the hippocampal formation is essential for spatial learning, but water maze performance and spatial learning in general actually depend on the coordinated action of different brain regions in a functionally integrated neural network (Cain and Saucier, 1996). The water maze has been used in studies on the involvement of various brain regions and the neurobiological basis of complex learning processes, but it has been instrumental in many reports on the pathophysiology and possible treatment of neurocognitive disorders as well. Many authors continue to stress the need for methodological innovation and alternative approaches. Novel training protocols and measuring procedures have been proposed, including standardized spatial memory and delayed-matching-to-place protocols. Recent studies are addressing how spatial and contextual memory can provide a framework for remembering events. Richard Morris and' associates at Edinburgh University (UK) recently developed a new paired-associate task for investigating episodic-like and semantic-like memory in animals. In this event arena, rats are trained to find a . specific flavor of food in a particular location (Day et al, 2003). Learning may take place in a single trial (episodic¬-like), or over several trials and days (semantic-likestatus: publishe