Assessment of Cognitive and Sensorimotor Defi cits - Animal Models of Acute Neurological Injuries: Injury and Mechanistic Assessments - page 231

Fig. 6. Water maze (set up for white animals) and spatial cues in the testing room.
diameter plastic pipe (caps and pipe are available at most
hardware stores). One end (the bottom) is weighted (e.g., with
sand) and attached to a plastic base (~20 cm × 20 cm) for stabi-
lization. When standing, the height of the pipe should come to
within ~15 cm of the upper edge of the pool. The other end
(the capped surface that forms the escape platform) is rough-
ened with sandpaper to provide grip for the animals' feet. The
depth of the water is adjusted so that the surface of the plat-
form is either ~2 cm above the surface of the water (visible; for
the cued water maze) or ~2 cm below the surface of the water
(submerged; for the spatial water maze).
5. Non-toxic tempera (poster) paint for making the water opaque
(white for dark animals, black for white animals).
6. Posters and other large, visually salient cues to hang on the
walls of the testing room.