The eight-arm Radial Arm Maze (Radial Water Maze) was designed over 40 years ago and remains a staple in the battery of spatial learning and memory tests used to assess hippocampal function in rodents (Olton & Samuelson, 1976). It is a classical maze for the assessment of spatial learning and memory in rodents, winged insects (honey bees/bumblebees), fish, birds and other animals.

It consists of eight arms equidistantly spaced away from one another.

The arms are 57cm x 10cm x 23cm (l x w x h) while the central platform is a diameter of 30cm.

Guillotine doors are used to section off choice arms.

Our Radial Mazes can be enclosed (covered with a top) or elevated at least 70 cm off the floor.

References

1. Penley, S. C., Gaudet, C. M., & Threlkeld, S. W. (2013). Use of an eight-arm radial water maze to assess working and reference memory following neonatal brain injury. Journal of visualized experiments: JoVE, (82), 50940. doi:10.3791/50940.
2. Braun, J. M., Lucchini, R., Bellinger, D. C., Hoffman, E., Nazzaro, M., Smith, D. R., & Wright, R. O. (2012). Predictors of virtual radial arm maze performance in adolescent Italian children. Neurotoxicology, 33(5), 1203–1211. doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2012.06.012.
3. Bird, C. M., & Burgess, N. (2009). Spatial Memory: Assessment in Animals. Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, 187–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008045046-9.00288-6