Method
Subjects
This experiment used 40 adult Sprague Dawley rats; 20 females and 20 males. The male rats were fed 18g of food a day, and the female rats were fed 16g of food a day. The rats had free access to water.
Apparatus
An elevated T-maze in a lighted training setting with a moderate amount of extra maze cues was used during this experiment. The floors of the maze were black Plexiglas and the walls were clear Plexiglas. The maze had four identical arms, each with measured dimensions of 45 x 12.5 x 15 cm. The arms each had a food well at the ends, and they extended from the center platform with dimensions of 12.5 x 12.5 x 15 cm.
Procedure
Every day, the rats were handled, as well as weighed, and placed in the testing room about 20 …show more content…
On day 2, the rats were trained to make a left or right turn. The rats were given 30 trials and a maximum of 3 minutes to find and eat the food. The rats started at the same place at the beginning of each trial. The beginning place is labeled 1. If the rat found the food, the time it took them to find it was recorded as well as the position of the pellet and the position of the rat, and then they were removed from the cage. If the rat did not find the pellet within 3 minutes, they were removed from the cage. They were kept in a holding cage for an interval of 1 minute between trials. During trials 10, 20, and 30, a probe test was administered with the plus maze being the T-maze. The arms were 180 degrees from the original start arm. The original start arm was labeled 2, and the arms at the end of the T-maze were labeled A and B, which were baited on the prob trials. During the probe trials, the arm that was bated was recorded, as well as the time it took the rat to reach the bait and the amount of errors. During the probe trial, if the rat made the turn that was correct during the training, it was labeled as a response solution. If they made the turn in the correct place in the room, it was labeled place solution. After trial 30, the maze was wiped …show more content…
On day 3, the T-maze only had one arm that was baited, and it was the same arm for each trial. The rat was placed at the same start position facing the center of the maze, labeled 1, at the beginning of every trial. The time it took the rat to reach the pellet at the end of the arm was recorded each time. The rat was given a maximum of 3 minutes to find and eat the pellet. The rat was removed from the cage up on either eating the pellet, or the time running out, and placed in the holding cage for about 1 minute between each trial. There was 15 trials with the maze facing the same way, and trials 16-30, the maze was turned around with the same arm baited as in trials 1-15. The rats used two different strategies; allocentric spatial strategy, which was going to an arm in a mixed position of the room, or egocentric nonspatial strategy, which was to turn right. The arm that was baited and the arm that was the start position was recorded, as well as the time it took for the rat to reach the bait and the amount of errors it made. After the trials were completed, the maze was wiped
Subjects
This experiment used 40 adult Sprague Dawley rats; 20 females and 20 males. The male rats were fed 18g of food a day, and the female rats were fed 16g of food a day. The rats had free access to water.
Apparatus
An elevated T-maze in a lighted training setting with a moderate amount of extra maze cues was used during this experiment. The floors of the maze were black Plexiglas and the walls were clear Plexiglas. The maze had four identical arms, each with measured dimensions of 45 x 12.5 x 15 cm. The arms each had a food well at the ends, and they extended from the center platform with dimensions of 12.5 x 12.5 x 15 cm.
Procedure
Every day, the rats were handled, as well as weighed, and placed in the testing room about 20 …show more content…
On day 2, the rats were trained to make a left or right turn. The rats were given 30 trials and a maximum of 3 minutes to find and eat the food. The rats started at the same place at the beginning of each trial. The beginning place is labeled 1. If the rat found the food, the time it took them to find it was recorded as well as the position of the pellet and the position of the rat, and then they were removed from the cage. If the rat did not find the pellet within 3 minutes, they were removed from the cage. They were kept in a holding cage for an interval of 1 minute between trials. During trials 10, 20, and 30, a probe test was administered with the plus maze being the T-maze. The arms were 180 degrees from the original start arm. The original start arm was labeled 2, and the arms at the end of the T-maze were labeled A and B, which were baited on the prob trials. During the probe trials, the arm that was bated was recorded, as well as the time it took the rat to reach the bait and the amount of errors. During the probe trial, if the rat made the turn that was correct during the training, it was labeled as a response solution. If they made the turn in the correct place in the room, it was labeled place solution. After trial 30, the maze was wiped …show more content…
On day 3, the T-maze only had one arm that was baited, and it was the same arm for each trial. The rat was placed at the same start position facing the center of the maze, labeled 1, at the beginning of every trial. The time it took the rat to reach the pellet at the end of the arm was recorded each time. The rat was given a maximum of 3 minutes to find and eat the pellet. The rat was removed from the cage up on either eating the pellet, or the time running out, and placed in the holding cage for about 1 minute between each trial. There was 15 trials with the maze facing the same way, and trials 16-30, the maze was turned around with the same arm baited as in trials 1-15. The rats used two different strategies; allocentric spatial strategy, which was going to an arm in a mixed position of the room, or egocentric nonspatial strategy, which was to turn right. The arm that was baited and the arm that was the start position was recorded, as well as the time it took for the rat to reach the bait and the amount of errors it made. After the trials were completed, the maze was wiped