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. 2016 May 4;11(5):e0154721. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154721

Fig 2. Spatial learning in the Morris Water Maze before and after MCAO.

Fig 2

Five training blocks (3 trials/block) were given across one day on the Morris Water Maze (A, C), followed by a free-swim probe trial (B, D). A, Mean acquisition goal latency (AGL) ± SEM in seconds (averaged across 3 trials within each block) for TNFα-Tg and non-Tg littermates prior to MCAO (n = 10–13 rats per genotype/treatment group). Significant reductions in AGL were observed over training in both groups, with non-Tg mice outperforming TNFα-Tg mice by block 5. B, Mean percent time ± SEM spent searching the goal quadrant or a decoy quadrant (opposite the goal) during the free-swim probe prior to MCAO. The time spent by non-Tg mice in the goal quadrant was significantly above chance levels (i.e. 25%), (***p < 0001). In contrast, the percent time spent by TNFα-Tg mice in the goal quadrant did not differ significantly from chance. C, AGL ± SEM on the Morris Water maze assessed seven days after MCAO. Neither TNFα-Tg nor non-Tg rats showed significant reductions in AGL across training. D, Mean percent time ± SEM spent searching the goal and decoy quadrants at seven days post-MCAO. Non Tg rats continued to search above chance levels in the goal quadrant (*p < 0.05). Conversely, goal search times for TNFα-Tg rats did not differ from chance levels.