Pain and inflammation
Motory Coordination, Grip, Strength, Activity
Ventilators and Gas Anesthesia
Behaviour, Conditioning, Reward
Behaviour, Mazes, Tracking
Tissue baths, Transducers, Recorders
Miscellaneous, ECT, LMD
Blood pressure, Vital functions
Metabolism, Feeding behaviour
Muromachi microwave fixation
The Barnes Maze is a valid alternative to the water maze to study spatial memory. The motivational drive is the rodent's instinctive aversion for open spaces and natural preference for dark and "sheltered" spaces.
The advantage over the water maze is that the Barnes Maze is easier to set-up, not requiring the use of water, hence it's probably less stressful for the animal, especially in the case of mice.
All Animal Mazes manufactured by Ugo Basile are designed to give optimal results with any Video-Tracking software. This is achieved by:
All materials were selected to be sturdy and easy to clean, to construct reliable and durable mazes.
The Ugo Basile Barnes Maze is available for mice or for rats. The animal shelter is included with the maze and it can be magnetically attached underneath any hole very easily: the shelter bottom can be detached for cleaning: a removable ramp is included, so that the animal finds it easier to enter the shelter. Optional cups (“fake holes”) are available as optional, to be attached to the empty holes.
The mouse Barnes Maze, has a diameter of 100cm: 20 holes (5cm diam.) are positioned along the maze rim. The rat model is 130 cm of diameter and its 20 holes have a diameter of 10cm. Height from the floor is60cm for either model. The Barnes-Maze is supported by 4 metal legs, which make the device very stable.Custom model can be made on request: see for example the special model with interchangeable tables.
| FEATURE | BENEFIT |
| High-contrast colors | Gives optimal results with any Video-Tracking software |
| Non-reflecting surface | Guarantees optimal camera view and no glare |
| Ample color selection | Available in grey (standard), blue, white, black, custom color |
| Reasonably rough “warm” surface texture | Selected for best rodent comfort, non-slippery |
| Quality materials | Reliable and durable mazes, easy to clean and store |
| Physical | 40192 Rat | 40193 Mouse |
| Diameter | 130cm | 100cm |
| Number of holes | 20 | 20 |
| Hole diameter | 10cm | 5cm |
| Height (from the floor) | 60cm | 60cm |
| Shelter | Included. With magnets for easy positioning and removal | |
| Standard color | Grey (RAL GR7001) | |
| Available colors | Blue, white, black, color on request | |
| Weight | 35Kg | 15Kg |
| Shipping Weight | 46Kg | 20Kg |
| Packing Dimensions | 135x135x30cm | 114x114x50cm |
| Warranty | 40192/3 is covered by a 24-month warranty | |
Carol Barnes developed a maze test for spatial learning and memory in 1979 where animals escaped from a brightly lit, exposed circular open platform surface to a small dark recessed chamber located under one of the holes around the perimeter of the platform. Although it was initially invented for rats, the Barnes maze has become more popular to assess spatial memory in mice, taking advantage of their superior abilities to find and escape through small holes.
Visual cues are required to optimize cognitive performance: better performance are evidenced in mice tested with intra- and extra-maze cues than mice trained with no spatial cues present.
The Barnes Maze has similarities to the Morris Water Maze: both tasks measure the ability of a mouse to learn and remember the location of a target zone using a configuration of distal visual cues located around the testing area. Both tasks rely on hippocampal-dependent spatial reference memory and on the inherent tendencies of the subjects to escape from an aversive environment.
However, in the Barnes Maze no strong aversive stimuli is being used as reinforcement, which are likely to produce stress in the animal, influencing the performance in the task. It has been suggested that the Barnes maze is less anxiogenic.
Mostly reference memory and working memory has been studied using the Barnes Maze with different protocols, but more recently the Barnes Maze has been used in protocols to study short-term and long-term reference memory.
| 40192 | Barnes Maze (BM) for Rats, including shelter |
| 40193 | Barnes Maze (BM) for Mice, including shelter |
| ACCESSORIES | |
| 40192-002 | Shelter with magnetic connection, for Barnes Maze, Rats |
| 40192-320 | Black Cup for Rat Barnes (fake shelter), 4cm deep, 10cm I.D., with magnets |
| 40193-003 | Shelter with magnetic connection, for Barnes Maze, Mice |
| 40193-320 | Black Cup for Mouse Barnes (fake shelter), 2cm deep, 5cm I.D., with magnets |
| OPTIONAL | |
| 60000 | ANY-maze Software |
| 47400-040 | B/W USB Camera, including day&night 2.8-12.0mm varifocal lens, 5m USB cable and ceiling support |
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