Water Maze
Objective: Evaluation of spatial learning and memory performance in adult offspring to assess cognitive performance in relation to prenatal stress and postnatal handling
This is a Water Maze protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 7 procedural steps, 4 equipment items. Extracted from a 1997 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
rat • not specified • not specified • adult • not specified • not specified
Study window
~3 week study window
Core workflow
Environmental Manipulation - Prenatal Stress • Environmental Manipulation - Postnatal Handling • Y-maze Testing
Primary readouts
- Number of visits to different arms in Y-maze
- Distance covered in open field
- Time spent in corners of open field
- Time spent in open arms of elevated plus-maze
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
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Protocol Steps
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Environmental Manipulation - Prenatal Stress
Rat dams subjected to prenatal stress during the last week of gestation
Note: This is the prenatal stress condition applied to pregnant dams
View evidence from paper
“prenatal stress of rat dams during the last week of gestation”
Environmental Manipulation - Postnatal Handling
Rat pups subjected to daily handling during the first 3 weeks of life
Note: This is the postnatal handling condition applied to offspring
View evidence from paper
“postnatal daily handling of rat pups during the first 3 weeks of life”
Y-maze Testing
Evaluate behavioral reactivity of adult offspring in response to novelty by measuring number of visits to different arms
Note: One of four parameters used to assess behavioral reactivity
View evidence from paper
“The behavioral reactivity of the adult offspring in response to novelty was evaluated using four different parameters: the number of visits to different arms in a Y-maze”
Open Field Testing
Measure distance covered and time spent in corners of open field as indicators of behavioral reactivity
Note: Two of four parameters used to assess behavioral reactivity
View evidence from paper
“the distance covered in an open field, the time spent in the corners of the open field”
Elevated Plus-maze Testing
Measure time spent in open arms as a parameter of behavioral reactivity and anxiety-like behavior
Note: One of four parameters used to assess behavioral reactivity
View evidence from paper
“the time spent in the open arms of an elevated plus-maze”
Water Maze Testing
Assess spatial learning and memory performance in adult offspring
Note: Primary cognitive performance measure
View evidence from paper
“Cognitive performance was assessed using a water maze and a two-trial memory test.”
Two-trial Memory Test
Assess memory performance in adult offspring
Note: Secondary cognitive performance measure
View evidence from paper
“Cognitive performance was assessed using a water maze and a two-trial memory test.”