Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35314563›Full record

ReviewExperimental animals2022

Morris water maze: a versatile and pertinent tool for assessing spatial learning and memory.

Muhammad Zulfadhli Othman, Zurina Hassan, Ahmad Tarmizi Che Has

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Experimental animals, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 165 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
165citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

165 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  20. Phytochemical Profile, Antioxidant Activity, and Neuroprotective Effects ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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105 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Muhammad Zulfadhli OthmanDepartment of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kampus Kesihatan, Kubang Kerian, 16150 Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Zurina HassanCentre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia.
Ahmad Tarmizi Che HasDepartment of Neurosciences, School of Medical Sciences Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kampus Kesihatan, Kubang Kerian, 16150 Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Since its development about 40 years ago (1981-2021), Morris water maze has turned into a very popular tool for assessing spatial learning and memory. Its many advantages have ensured its pertinence to date. These include its effectiveness in evaluating hippocampal-dependent learning and memory, exemption from motivational differences across diverse experimental manipulations, reliability in various cross-species studies, and adaptability to many experimental conditions with various test protocols. Nonetheless, throughout its establishment, several experimental and analysis loopholes have galvanized researchers to assess ways in which it could be improved and adapted to fill this gap. Therefore, in this review, we briefly summarize these developments since the early years of its establishment through to the most recent advancements in computerized analysis, offering more comprehensive analysis paradigms. In addition, we discuss the adaptability of the Morris water maze across different test versions and analysis paradigms, providing suggestions with regard to the best paradigms for particular experimental conditions. Hence, the proper selection of the experimental protocols, analysis paradigms, and consideration of the assay's limitations should be carefully considered. Given that appropriate measures are taken, with various adaptations made, the Morris water maze will likely remain a relevant tool to assess the mechanisms of spatial learning and memory.

Indexed as

MemorySpatial LearningAnimalsMaze LearningMorris Water Maze TestReproducibility of Resultshippocampal-dependent learning and memoryMorris water mazespatial learning and memory

Identifiers

PMID35314563
PMCPMC9388345

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.