A Modified Barnes Maze for Juvenile Rats

To better understand neural codes for spatial navigation and to address cognitive development questions, the neurobiology of postnatal hippocampal development is receiving increased attention. While the Morris Water Maze is the gold standard for assessing hippocampal integrity, potential confounds can be difficult to control for in juvenile rodents (around three weeks of age, when spatial navigation ability first emerges) and this wet maze is not amenable to electrophysiological recording. A dry maze alternative with minimal training, like the Barnes Maze adapted for juvenile rats, can help overcome these obstacles. This paper describes in detail the experimental procedure and data analyses for the adapted Barnes maze for juvenile animals.