Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
Assessing Spatial Memory Impairment in a Mouse Model of Traumatic Brain Injury Using a Radial Water Tread Maze
Published on: July 17, 2017
A novel radial water tread maze tracks age-related cognitive decline in mice
Christina Pettan-Brewer1, Dylan V Touch, Jesse C Wiley
1Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Abstract:
There is currently no treatment and cure for age-related dementia and cognitive impairment in humans. Mice suffer from age-related cognitive decline just as people do, but assessment is challenging because of cumbersome and at times stressful performance tasks. We developed a novel radial water tread (RWT) maze and tested male C57BL/6 (B6) and C57BL/6 x Balb/c F1 (CB6F1) mice at ages 4, 12, 20, and 28 months. B6 mice showed a consistent learning experience and memory retention that gradually decreased with age. CB6F1 mice showed a moderate learning experience in the 4 and 12 month groups, which was not evident in the 20 and 28 month groups. In conclusion, CB6F1 mice showed more severe age-related cognitive impairment compared to B6 mice and might be a suitable model for intervention studies. In addition, the RWT maze has a number of operational advantages compared to currently accepted tasks and can be used to assess age-related cognition impairment in B6 and CB6F1 mice as early as 12 months of age.
Insights
A new radial water maze effectively assesses age-related cognitive decline in mice. CB6F1 mice exhibit more severe impairment than B6 mice, making them a promising model for dementia intervention studies.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Aging Research
- Animal Models
Background:
- Age-related dementia and cognitive impairment lack human cures.
- Assessing cognitive decline in mice is challenging due to current task limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel radial water tread (RWT) maze for assessing age-related cognitive impairment.
- To compare cognitive decline in C57BL/6 (B6) and CB6F1 mice using the RWT maze.
- To evaluate the RWT maze's suitability for future intervention studies.
Main Methods:
- Developed and utilized a novel radial water tread (RWT) maze.
- Tested male B6 and CB6F1 mice at four age groups: 4, 12, 20, and 28 months.
- Assessed learning experience and memory retention across age groups and mouse strains.
Main Results:
- B6 mice demonstrated a gradual age-related decrease in learning and memory.
- CB6F1 mice showed learning in younger groups (4, 12 months) but not in older groups (20, 28 months).
- CB6F1 mice exhibited more severe age-related cognitive impairment compared to B6 mice.
Conclusions:
- CB6F1 mice represent a suitable model for studying age-related cognitive impairment and testing interventions.
- The RWT maze offers operational advantages and can detect cognitive impairment in mice from 12 months of age.
