title: A cold radial maze for long-lasting spatial memory in mice.
abstract: Here we report the establishment of a novel spatial learning and memory test called the cold radial maze. It is specifically designed for mice, with all conditions tailored to their natural behaviors. The cold radial maze is a dry-land test with easy-to-measure variables that relies on a consistent motivation system and limits the moderately adverse experience to the duration of testing. Training on this maze produces a long-lasting, resistant, and reversible spatial memory in mice in a reproducible way, without introducing undesirable side effects typically produced in other spatial learning tests. This novel behavioral technique may prove useful in studying mouse models of memory impairment-associated human conditions.
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, Medical Faculty, University of Zürich and Department of Biology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich, Switzerland. vizi.sandor@freemail.hu
authors.forename: Sándor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vizi
authors.forename: Isabelle M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Mansuy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001525:Behavioral Sciences / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D003080:Cold Temperature; D018782:Maze Learning; D008568:Memory; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D013037:Spatial Behavior