Editing Spatial memory (section)

===Morris water navigation task===
{{main|Morris water navigation task}}

The Morris water navigation task is a classic test for studying spatial learning and memory in rats<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Morris | first1 = R. G. | year = 1981 | title = Spatial Localization Does Not Require the Presence of Local Cues | journal = Learning and Motivation | volume = 12 | issue = 2| pages = 239–260 | doi = 10.1016/0023-9690(81)90020-5 }}</ref> and was first developed in 1981 by Richard G. Morris for whom the test is named. The subject is placed in a round tank of translucent water with walls that are too high for it to climb out and water that is too deep for it to stand in. The walls of the tank are decorated with visual cues to serve as reference points. The rat must swim around the pool until by chance it discovers just below the surface the hidden platform onto which it can climb. {{cn|date=March 2025}}

Typically, rats swim around the edge of the pool first before venturing out into the center in a meandering pattern before stumbling upon the hidden platform. However, as time spent in the pool increases experience, the amount of time needed to locate the platform decreases, with veteran rats swimming directly to the platform almost immediately after being placed in the water. Due to the nature of task involving rats to swim, most researchers believe that habituation is required to decrease the stress levels of the animal. The stress of the animal may impair cognitive testing results.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sharma |first1=Sunita |last2=Rakoczy |first2=Sharlene |last3=Brown-Borg |first3=Holly |title=Assessment of spatial memory in mice |journal=Life Sciences |date=October 2010 |volume=87 |issue=17–18 |pages=521–536 |doi=10.1016/j.lfs.2010.09.004 |pmc=6457258 |pmid=20837032 }}</ref>