Advances in the study on hippocampus-related spatial learning and memory in Morris water maze

Spatial learning and memory is one of the advanced neurophysiologic activities of brain.It involves in many brain regions,neurotransmitters and intracellular signaling molecules.Spatial learning and memory is a very complex process of neurophysiologic activities.Morris water maze(MWM) was developed by Richard Morris in 1984.The maze was designed to assess spatial learning and memory of laboratory rodents.Hippocampus is an important structure of brain and the integrity of the hippocampal formation is essential for spatial learning.As test facility,MWM is particular sensitivity to the effect of hippocampus lesions in rats.It has been shown that the hippocampal formation is particular important in spatial learning and memory in MWM.The plasticity of hippocampus and long-term potentiation(LTP),one of the plasticity of hippocampal synaptic,may be the neuronal basis for hippocampus-dependent learning.