Assessment of spatial memory

Behavioral tasks must be evaluated in terms of the cognitive functions they require. The tasks described in this unit are useful for detecting stimulation by drugs or a small electrical current, impairment of normal function by production of lesions or administration of a pharmacologic or toxicologic agent, recording activity during performance of a specific task, or behavioral phenotyping of transgenic or knockout mice. The radial arm maze test is used for basic working memory or working memory versus reference memory; the water maze task is used for spatial memory, spatial probe trials, or working memory; and the T-maze test is used for spatial memory, working versus reference memory, or spontaneous alternation.