实验方案
学习找到平台
从沿着池壁游，到径直游向平台。
看着动物学会水迷宫，是行为神经科学中一种安静的乐趣。第一次试次里，它沿着池壁游，希望找到出口。接着它开始探索中间区域。终于，它撞上平台，爬上去，直立起来四处张望。几天后，无论你把它放在哪里，它都会径直游过去。原始笔记把这段历程描写得很美：
学习
At first the rat will swim around the side. After a while it understands there is no way out by doing that. Then it searches more to the center. If it does not find the platform after approximately two minutes, lift it out & dry it. If it really does not get the point, you can gently guide it to the platform. It gets on the platform & usually rears and looks around. This is something else to learn, that there is an escape platform. You can leave it for ~ 15 seconds, to orientate. It is looking into the room.
There must be visual cues on the room walls. It needs at least 3 different cues, e.g. 3 different posters, (so it can 'triangulate'), always visible from inside the pool. These cues should be extra-maze i.e. well outside of the pool. If they are close to the poolside, then the rat could be doing association between the cue & the platform. After some training swims, the rat will go direct to the platform. After ~15 seconds you lift it off the platform and gently dry it (better - put it in a litter of tissues, so it can dry itself). Rats can do several swims per day. Now you can use a different start-point. An informed rat does not try to back-track to the old start point. It goes direct to the platform. Because it has a spatial map in its hippocampus? The training sequence and test sequence are something that you as the scientist have to decide on. Obviously you are going to use Controls and Experimental rats.
原文（英文）：watermaze.org Part I, General Information。出自Richard Baker的原始资料。按原样转载，未作改动。Copyright Richard Baker© 2013. All Rights Reserved.
心中有数的大鼠不会试图折返到原来的起点，而是直奔平台。
最后这句话是检验学习是否属于空间学习的好方法：改变起点，看动物是否仍然朝平台游去。更多内容请见起始位置与放入。