Protocols

A water maze protocol is a series of small decisions: how long each swim lasts, how many swims a day, where the animal starts, when the platform moves. None of them is exotic, but together they decide what your results can tell you.

• Learning trialsWhat a rat does in its first trials, and how to help it learn.
• Cued vs hidden platformWhy a visible-platform phase comes first, and what follows.
• Trials & intervalsTrial length, trials per day, intervals and time on the platform.
• Start positions & releaseLowering the animal in, facing the wall, and varying start points.
• Reversal learningMoving the platform to test flexibility of learning.
• Methods sectionExample methods paragraphs for each test, with notes for authors.
• ChecklistsPre-flight and every-session checklists to print and pin up.

For an overview of what can be measured in each trial, see Morris water maze analysis: measures, methods and strategy.