T-Maze Forced Alternation

The T-maze forced alternation task is a discrete-trial procedure that assesses spatial working memory by first directing the animal into one arm (sample run) and then presenting a free choice between the previously visited and the alternative arm (choice run). On the sample run, a guillotine door blocks one goal arm, forcing the animal to enter and explore the other. The animal is then returned to the start arm, the block is removed, and both arms are opened simultaneously for the choice run. Intact rodents preferentially select the previously unvisited arm on approximately 75-85% of trials.

Performance is quantified as the percentage of correct choices (entries into the novel arm) across a series of 5-15 discrete trials within a session. Response latency on the choice run, the number of trials to reach a criterion (e.g., 6 correct out of 8 consecutive trials), and the pattern of errors across the session are additional informative measures. The forced alternation design ensures that animals experience both arms within a session, and because each trial provides an independent data point, the protocol yields statistically powerful within-session data with relatively few animals.

ConductMaze orchestrates multi-trial T-maze sessions through programmable guillotine doors at the choice point and goal arms, coordinated with overhead video tracking. The software automates trial sequencing—managing sample arm assignment, inter-trial intervals, door actuation timing, and choice arm detection—while recording full positional data for each trial. Pseudorandom sample arm sequences can be generated to prevent side biases, and the system flags consecutive same-side choices suggestive of positional strategies.