Morris Water Maze

The Morris Water Maze (MWM) is designed to test spatial memory and long term memory by observing and recording escape latency, thigmotaxis duration, distance moved, and velocity during the time spend in the MWM water tank. Tempera paint is added into the water until it becomes opaque. A hidden platform, 1/10 the length of the diameter of the water body, is placed about 1cm below the water surface. Three fourths of the water tank is surrounded by privacy blinds with 3 visual cues. The subjects are monitored by a video tracking system directly above the water tank as they swim and parameters are measured using Ethovision software in a computer.