Barnes Maze Reversal Learning

The Barnes maze reversal learning protocol assesses cognitive flexibility by relocating the target escape hole 180 degrees to the opposite side of the platform after the animal has acquired the original escape location. This forces the animal to inhibit its learned spatial response and redirect search behavior to the new target location using the same constellation of distal spatial cues. Reversal learning in the Barnes maze engages prefrontal cortical circuitry for response inhibition alongside hippocampal spatial remapping, providing a dual assessment of memory and executive function within a single paradigm.

Performance is evaluated by comparing acquisition curves for the original versus reversed target locations, quantifying perseverative errors (investigations of the former target hole during reversal), and classifying search strategy shifts across reversal days. The perseveration index—defined as the proportion of hole investigations directed at the former target zone during the first reversal session—is a particularly sensitive measure of cognitive inflexibility. Animals with prefrontal damage show pronounced perseveration that gradually resolves, while hippocampal damage produces global acquisition impairments without exaggerated perseveration.

ConductMaze automates the reversal protocol by allowing the target hole definition to be switched with a single parameter change, automatically relabeling all zone definitions relative to both original and new targets. The software computes perseveration indices, tracks the transition from old to new search patterns using hole-by-hole investigation maps, and generates side-by-side polar plots comparing pre- and post-reversal spatial distributions. Nose-poke sensors at each hole provide precise investigation counts independent of video tracking.