Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40948899›Full record

ArticleBio-protocol2025

Constructing and Implementing a Low-Cost On-Demand Morris Water Maze Platform.

Bradley Stinnette, Jeffrey M Long, Craig Myrum

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bio-protocol, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Bradley StinnetteDepartment of Biology, Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jeffrey M LongNational Institutes of Health (NIH), Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurocognitive Aging Section, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Craig MyrumDepartment of Biology, Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Morris water maze (MWM) is one of the most widely used procedures to assess hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory in rodents. By varying test protocols, researchers can test several different domains of learning and memory. Over multiple testing days, animals learn to swim to a platform hidden just under the water surface by using the spatial relationship between distal cues and the platform. Probe trials, where the platform is rendered unavailable, measure rodents' spatial bias for the area where the platform was previously located. The ability of researchers to control the availability of the platform "on-demand" offers both practical and methodological advantages. Despite MWM's prominence in the field of behavioral neuroscience, the high cost of purchasing a commercial MWM package is often prohibitively expensive for many research labs, especially on-demand platforms. Here, we describe a low-cost strategy for a build-your-own MWM that includes a remote-controlled on-demand platform (~530 USD) and tank (~550 USD). It is our hope that disseminating low-cost strategies aimed at expanding access to high-quality research tools at underfunded research institutions will accelerate biomedical discovery and foster further innovation. Key features • An on-demand platform allows for seamless testing (e.g., during probe trials, when the platform is usually removed), without interrupting the experiment to adjust/remove the platform. • The focus here is to offer a step-by-step, economical alternative to otherwise costly, commercial on-demand platforms. • Additionally, the protocol offers cost-effective ways of assembling the tank, preparing the testing environment, and implementing a testing protocol. • We include testing strategies specifically developed for aged rats, as these animals are routinely used in our laboratories.

Indexed as

Cognitive agingDo-it-yourself (DIY)F344 ratsLow-costMemoryMorris water maze (MWM)RatsSpatial learning

Identifiers

PMID40948899
PMCPMC12423283

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.