Maze model to study spatial learning and memory in freely moving monkeys

• Published in: Journal of neuroscience methods 2008-05, Vol.170 (1), p.111-116
• Main Authors: Zhang, Bo, Tan, Hua, Sun, Ning-Lei, Wang, Jian-Hong, Meng, Zhi-Qiang, Li, Chuan-Yu, Fraser, Wilson A.W., Hu, Xin-Tian, Carlson, Synnöve, Ma, Yuan-Ye
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Conditioning, Operant - physiology; Freely moving monkeys; Macaca mulatta; Male; Maze Learning - physiology; Memory - physiology; Psychomotor Performance - physiology; Space Perception - physiology; Spatial learning and memory; Three-dimensional maze
• ISSN: 0165-0270; 1872-678X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2007.12.017

Many types of mazes have been used in cognitive brain research and data obtained from those experiments, especially those from rodents’ studies, support the idea that the hippocampus is related to spatial learning and memory. But the results from non-human primates researches regarding the role of the hippocampus in spatial learning and memory are controversial and inconsistent with those obtained in rodents. This might be due to the differences of the methods used in non-human primates and rodents. Several kinds of maze models including two-dimensional computerized visual maze models and three-dimensional maze models have been developed for non-human primates, but they all have some defects. Therefore, development of a maze model for non-human primates that is comparable with those used in rodents is necessary to solve the controversy. This paper describes a large-scale, three-dimensional outdoor maze model for non-human primates which can be used to study spatial learning and memory. Monkeys learn to use the maze quickly compared with two-dimensional computerized visual mazes. It has many advantages which could make up the limits of the existing three-dimensional mazes in non-human primates, and can be comparable with radial arm mazes used in rodents. Based on the results, we believe that the new maze model will be valuable in many research areas, especially in studies involving spatial learning and memory in freely moving monkeys.