T-Maze Rewarded Alternation

The T-maze rewarded alternation task combines spatial working memory demands with appetitive motivation by placing food rewards in the goal arms according to an alternation rule. On the sample run, both goal arms are baited but only one is accessible; after the animal consumes the reward, it is returned to the start and given a free choice. The previously visited arm is now empty while the alternative arm still contains food, so correct alternation is reinforced by reward. This procedure leverages both the innate tendency to alternate and the learned association between novel-arm entry and reward, producing robust baseline performance that is highly sensitive to pharmacological or genetic disruption.

Performance is measured as the percentage of correct rewarded choices across trials, with secondary measures including choice latency, running speed, and reward consumption time. Food-motivated protocols have the advantage of generating consistent high-baseline performance (85-95% correct in well-trained animals), which provides ample dynamic range for detecting drug-induced impairments. However, they require food restriction to 85-90% free-feeding body weight and several days of pretraining to habituate animals to the maze, the reward, and the running procedure.

ConductMaze integrates automated reward detection through pellet sensors and lick-contact circuits in each goal arm, enabling real-time confirmation that the animal has consumed the reward before triggering the next phase. The software manages the alternation rule, logs reward collection times, and adjusts pseudorandom sample arm sequences to prevent side biases. Body weight tracking and food restriction schedules can be managed through the integrated colony management module.