Behavioral Evaluation of Odor Memory in Mice

Behavioural tests based on the spontaneous recognition paradigm have been used extensively for examining the memory capacity of rodents. By exploiting their innate preference to investigate novel stimuli, inferences can be drawn about the perceived familiarity of encountered objects. Olfaction is the dominant sense used by mice to navigate their environment, yet these tests are often conducted using visual objects. By employing odors, one can reduce the high level of variability commonly observed between subjects. In this paper, we describe a protocol for assessing context-dependent odor memory by probing spatial and temporal associations separately or in conjunction with each other. We also detail a context-independent novel odor recognition protocol. These tests offer a simple and effective method for measuring odor memory in rodents using cheap and easily obtained materials.