ADX-47273, a mGlu5 receptor positive allosteric modulator, attenuates deficits in cognitive flexibility induced by withdrawal from ‘binge-like’ ethanol exposure in rats

Assessment of spatial learning and memory in the Barnes maze task in rodents—methodological consideration

“…Eventually, in the next set of experiments, we decided to decrease the number of trials to two/day but extend it 1 day (5 days, in total 10 trials). Thus, it seems that the number of cues within the surroundings of the maze affected the performance of rats in the BM task (Gawel et al 2016; Marszalek-Grabska et al 2018). …”

“…Thus, Harrison et al (2006) calculated latency (primary latency), path length (primary path length) and number of errors (primary number of errors) only to the first encounter with the escape hole. This approach was subsequently employed by others (Locklear and Kritzer 2014; Rodriguez et al 2013; Sunyer et al 2007), as well as by our laboratory (Gawel et al 2016; Marszalek-Grabska et al 2018). Moreover, O’Leary and Brown (2013) also noticed that primary measures are more sensitive in terms of learning/memory impairments than total measures.…”

“…This is done 24 h before the first acquisition trial. We believe that this type of habituation, preceded by the handling of the animals for few days prior the BM task, is enough for the rats to familiarize themselves with both the maze surface and escape box, as well as to reduce their anxiety (Gawel et al 2016; Marszalek-Grabska et al 2018). In the Sunyer et al (2007) work (the most frequently adopted procedure for the BM task in mice), the authors recommend one session (the shaping trial) in which they placed the mouse in the center of the maze and covered it by the chamber, lifting this 10 s later.…”

“…The reversal learning trials usually start 24 h after the last acquisition trial or acquisition probe trial(s) (Bredy et al 2004; O’Leary and Brown 2012) and take shorter times than that in the acquisition phase (Raab et al 2017; Stragier et al 2015; Marszalek-Grabska et al 2018). This is because the animals have already familiarized themselves with the environment (e.g., distant cues), and they know the rules of how to solve the maze.…”

“…Thus, herein, based on the original work of Carol Barnes, we propose an extended protocol of BM for rats which may be customized for mice also, and which is built upon on literature data, our previous papers (Gawel et al 2016; Marszalek-Grabska et al 2018), as well as our own observations and experience. The aversive stimuli and room configuration proposed here have been validated in our laboratory.…”