Editing Morris water navigation task (section)

== Overview ==
[[File:MorrisWaterMaze.jpg|thumb|A rat undergoing a Morris water navigation test]]
The basic procedure for the Morris water navigation task is that the rat is placed in a large circular pool and is required to find an invisible or visible platform that allows it to escape the water by using various cues.<ref name="Sharma2010">{{cite journal |last=Sharma |first=S |author2=Rakoczy, S |author3=Brown-Borg, H  |title=Assessment of spatial memory in mice |journal=Life Sciences |date=23 October 2010 |volume=87 |issue=17–18 |pages=521–36 |pmid=20837032 |pmc=6457258 |doi=10.1016/j.lfs.2010.09.004}}</ref><ref name="Vorhees and Williams2006">{{cite journal |last=Vorhees |first=C |author2=Williams, M |title=Morris water maze: procedures for assessing spatial and related forms of learning and memory |journal=Nature Protocols | date=27 July 2006 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=848–58 |doi=10.1038/nprot.2006.116|pmid=17406317 |pmc=2895266 }}</ref> Many factors can influence the rats' performance, including their sex, the environment in which they were raised, exposure to drugs, etc.<ref name="Wongwitdecha1996">{{cite journal |last=Wongwitdecha |first=N |author2=Marsden, CA |title=Effects of social isolation rearing on learning in the Morris water maze |journal=Brain Research |date=9 April 1996 |volume=715 |issue=1–2 |pages=119–24 |pmid=8739630 |doi=10.1016/0006-8993(95)01578-7|s2cid=12321749 }}</ref> There are three basic tactics for the rats to escape the maze: a praxic strategy (remembering the movements needed to get to the platform), a taxic strategy (the rat uses visual cues to reach their destinations), or spatial strategy (using distal cues as points of reference to locate themselves).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Brandeis |first=R |author2=Brandys, Y |author3=Yehuda, S  |title=The use of the Morris Water Maze in the study of memory and learning |journal=The International Journal of Neuroscience |date=September 1989 |volume=48 |issue=1–2 |pages=29–69 |pmid=2684886 |doi=10.3109/00207458909002151}}</ref> There are a variety of paradigms for the water maze that can be used to examine different cognitive functions.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Brain Research. Brain Research Reviews |date=August 2001 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=60–90 |title=Applications of the Morris water maze in the study of learning and memory |last=D'Hooge |first=R. |author2=De Deyn PP |pmid=11516773 |doi=10.1016/S0165-0173(01)00067-4|s2cid=2651456 }}</ref> In particular, [[cognitive flexibility]] can be assessed using a water maze paradigm in which the hidden platform is continually re-located.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Journal of Neuroscience Methods |date=May 2011 |volume=198 |issue=1 |pages=44–52 |title=Statistical and theoretical considerations for the platform re-location water maze |last=Saab |first=BJ |author2=Saab AMP |author3=Roder JC  |pmid=21419797 |doi=10.1016/j.jneumeth.2011.03.008|s2cid=33909927 }}</ref>