Applications of the Morris water maze in translational traumatic brain injury research

NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS

卷:88

Review

Tucker, Laura B.^1,2  Velosky, Alexander G.¹  McCabe, Joseph T.^1,2 

[1] Uniformed Serv Univ Hlth Sci, FE Hebert Sch Med, Dept Anat Physiol & Genet, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA

[2] Uniformed Serv Univ Hlth Sci, FE Hebert Sch Med, Ctr Neurosci & Regenerat Med, Preclin Studies Core, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA

关键词: Learning;    Memory;    Hippocampus;    Cognition;    Traumatic brain injury;    Rodent;    Parietal cortex;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.010

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Acquired traumatic brain injury (TBI) is frequently accompanied by persistent cognitive symptoms, including executive function disruptions and memory deficits. The Morris Water Maze (MWM) is the most widely-employed laboratory behavioral test for assessing cognitive deficits in rodents after experimental TBI. Numerous protocols exist for performing the test, which has shown great robustness in detecting learning and memory deficits in rodents after infliction of TBI. We review applications of the MWM for the study of cognitive deficits following TBI in pre-clinical studies, describing multiple ways in which the test can be employed to examine specific aspects of learning and memory. Emphasis is placed on dependent measures that are available and important controls that must be considered in the context of TBI. Finally, caution is given regarding interpretation of deficits as being indicative of dysfunction of a single brain region (hippocampus), as experimental models of TBI most often result in more diffuse damage that disrupts multiple neural pathways and larger functional networks that participate in complex behaviors required in MWM performance.

【 授权许可】

Free