Eight arms radial maze

Presentation

The Eight Arms Radial Maze is extensively used in behavioural laboratories for evaluating spatial memory but also non-spatial memory associated with motivational cues (classically food).


Operating principle

The BIOSEB radial maze consists in a central area with eight sliding doors giving access to eight equally-sized arms. The maze, made of black Plexiglas, is mounted on a tripod with adjustable height high (until 1 m). Each arm has lateral walls with a height higher in the proximal side of the arm than in the distal side. In the distal extreme of each arm, a detachable recessed cup can be installed or replaced by cover (all included).

The sliding doors can be opened and closed manually or automatically, with two options in both cases:
• Manual doors operation can be made by the user in-site, by means of a mechanical thread system with pulley or off-site, by using a control unit with eight switches, one for each sliding door.
• Automated doors operation can be controlled by the animal position throughout the test using the Mazesoft-8 software associated with photoelectrical cell mounted on the radial maze and the corresponding control units, or using the SMART video-tracking system associated with the Input/Output device.

A water version of the radial maze is also available.

Parameters Measured • Chronological sequence of animal positioning in the radial maze (MAZESOFT-8 and SMART) • Time of entry in each zone (MAZESOFT-8 and SMART) • Current position (MAZESOFT-8 and SMART) • Total number of entries in each zone (MAZESOFT-8 and SMART) • Total number of reference and working memory (MAZESOFT-8) • Other integrated parameters: number of visits into the arms, response latency etc... (See MAZESOFT-8) Key features • Allows automated standard experiment • Different possibilities of control for opening and closing the doors (manual or automated) • Different possibilities for animal detection (photoelectrical cells, video-tracking...) • Mounted on a tripod with adjustable height