Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

T-maze alternation in the rodent

Abstract

This protocol details a method for using a T-maze to assess the cognitive ability of rodents. The T-maze is an elevated or enclosed apparatus in the form of a T placed horizontally. Animals are started from the base of the T and allowed to choose one of the goal arms abutting the other end of the stem. If two trials are given in quick succession, on the second trial the rodent tends to choose the arm not visited before, reflecting memory of the first choice. This is called 'spontaneous alternation'. This tendency can be reinforced by making the animal hungry and rewarding it with a preferred food if it alternates. Both spontaneous and rewarded alternation are very sensitive to dysfunction of the hippocampus, but other brain structures are also involved. Each trial should be completed in under 2 min, but the total number of trials required will vary according to statistical and scientific requirements.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: T-maze plan.

References

  1. Crawley, J. & Goodwin, F.K. Preliminary report of a simple animal behavior model for the anxiolytic effects of benzodiazepines. Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav. 13, 167–170 (1980).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Dixon, R.M., Bradley, K.M., Budge, M.M., Styles, P. & Smith, A.D. Longitudinal quantitative proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the hippocampus in Alzheimer's disease. Brain 125, 2332–2341 (2002).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Deacon, R.M.J., Bannerman, D.M. & Rawlins, J.N.P. Conditional discriminations based on external and internal cues in rats with cytotoxic hippocampal lesions. Behav. Neurosci. 115, 43–57 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Dember, W.N. & Richman, C.L. Spontaneous Alternation Behavior (Springer, New York, 1989).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. Olton, D.S., Becker, J.T. & Handelmann, G.E. Hippocampus, space and memory. Behav. Brain Sci. 2, 315–365 (1979).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Deacon, R.M.J., Penny, C. & Rawlins, J.N.P. Effects of medial prefrontal cortex cytotoxic lesions in mice. Behav. Brain Res. 139, 139–155 (2003).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Reisel, D. et al. Spatial memory dissociations in mice lacking GluR1. Nat. Neurosci. 5, 868–873 (2002).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Deacon, R.M.J. & Rawlins, J.N.P. Hippocampal lesions, species-typical behaviours and anxiety in mice. Behav. Brain Res. 156, 241–249 (2005).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Rawlins, J.N.P. & Olton, D.S. The septo-hippocampal system and cognitive mapping. Behav. Brain Res. 5, 331–358 (1982).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Morris, R.G.M., Garrud, P., Rawlins, J.N.P. & O'Keefe, J. Place navigation impaired in rats with hippocampal lesions. Nature 297, 681–683 (1982).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Lalonde, R. The neurobiological basis of spontaneous alternation. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 26, 91–104 (2002).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Whishaw, I.Q. & Tomie, J.-A. Of mice and mazes: Similarities between mice and rats on dry land but not water mazes. Physiol. Behav. 60, 1191–1197 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Guenther, K., Deacon, R.M.J., Perry, V.H. & Rawlins, J.N.P. Early behavioural changes in scrapie-affected mice and the influence of dapsone. Eur. J. Neurosci. 14, 401–409 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. King, D.L. et al. Progressive and gender-dependent cognitive impairment in the APPSW transgenic mouse model for Alzheimer's disease. Behav. Brain Res. 103, 145–162 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Pothion, S., Bizot, J.C., Trovero, F. & Belzung, C. Strain differences in sucrose preference and in the consequences of unpredictable chronic mild stress. Behav. Brain Res. 155, 135–146 (2004).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Handley, S.L. & Mithani, S. Effects of alpha-adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists in a maze-exploration model of 'fear'-motivated behaviour. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 327, 1–5 (1984).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Lister, R.G. The use of a plus-maze to measure anxiety in the mouse. Psychopharmacology 92, 180–185 (1987).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Contet, C., Rawlins, J.N.P. & Deacon, R.M.J. A comparison of 129S2/SvHsd and C57BL/6JOlaHsd mice on a test battery assessing sensorimotor, affective and cognitive behaviours: implications for the study of genetically modified mice. Behav. Brain Res. 124, 33–46 (2001).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Deacon, R.M.J. Appetitive position discrimination in the T-maze. Nat. Protocols 1, 13–15 (2006).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Fellows, B.J. Chance stimulus sequences for discrimination tasks. Psychol. Bull. 67, 87–92 (1967).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grant GR065438MA from the Wellcome Trust to the Oxford OXION group.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert M J Deacon.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Deacon, R., Rawlins, J. T-maze alternation in the rodent. Nat Protoc 1, 7–12 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2006.2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2006.2

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing