Virtual Morris Water Maze
From the rodent pool to the human lab
Thousands of rodent studies stand behind the water maze. The virtual version lets you ask the same question of people, which is why it turns up in research on ageing, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and brain injury.
What carries across
- A hidden goal that can only be found from distant cues.
- Learning over trials, followed by a probe.
- The analyses themselves: heading, path efficiency, proximity and strategy.
What doesn't
- Motivation. Rats want out of the water; people simply follow instructions.
- Words. People can talk themselves to the goal ("just left of the window"), something no rat can do.
- Movement. Without walking, body-based cues vanish, and that changes how the hippocampus and its partners contribute.
Making the comparison fair
Pick measures that match the rodent work you want to compare with, report the display type, and give enough practice that skill with the controls doesn't quietly become your main variable.