The Barnes maze is a test to to measure spatial learning and memory in laboratory animals. Can serve as an alternative to the water maze test (Morris test) while probably being less stressful for an animal. Video tracking is recommended to record animal movements.

 

Material

The arena surface is made of matte gray plastic (polystyrene or PVC) to prevent irregular light reflections during the video recording (the camera is usually situated above the arena and is highly sensitive to the light irregularities). The supporting structure of the maze is made of solid polypropylene and steel.

Dimensions

	for rats	for mice
arena diameter	122 cm	122 cm
holes	18, diam. 9.5 cm	40, diam 5 cm
drop box dimensions	12 х 12 х 29.5 cm
false drop box dimensions	8.6 х 5.3 х 22.5 cm
height above the floor	113 cm	113 cm

Key features

The Barnes maze consists of a circular table with 18 (rats) or 40 (mice) circular holes around the circumference of the table at an equal distance from each other and from the center of a table. Under each hole there is a slot for a box, called the drop box, or a smaller size false drop box. False drop boxes are required to make all holes visually indistinguishable.

Flat arena is easily detached from the supporting stand to allow compact storage.

Both rat and mice arenas are compatible with the same stand.

Components included

Flat arena

Supporting stand

Drop box

False drop boxes - for each hole