Reversal learning test

The question

Right, let's get our feet wet. Can an animal let go of an old answer and learn a new one? You're watching Morris Water Maze Software Guide, over at morriswatermazesoftware.com.

Meet the reversal learning test

In reversal learning, the platform moves after the animal has learned its first position, usually to the opposite quadrant. The animal must stop searching the old place and learn the new one. That tests cognitive flexibility, which depends on circuits beyond the hippocampus, such as the frontal cortex.

How it runs

So, what does a session look like? First, train the animal to a stable level on the first platform position. Next, move the platform, often to the opposite quadrant. Then, run new training trials over one or more days. Finally, add a probe trial to see which place the animal now prefers.

Strengths and limits

Why do labs keep coming back to it? It adds a flexibility measure to a standard protocol. It can reveal deficits that the first learning phase misses. Perseverance at the old place is easy to see in the tracks. And the catch? Results depend on how well the first position was learned. Each reversal adds days to the study.

What to measure

This is where tracking software earns its keep. Latency and proximity to the new platform: how quickly the new place is learned. Time near the old platform: perseveration on the previous answer. First heading: which goal the animal sets off towards. Strategy classes: whether search becomes direct again, or stays random. On the first reversal day, one group spends half of every trial circling the old spot. By day three they've switched. The other group switches on day one. Same final score, very different flexibility.

The takeaway

One thing to take away: time near the old platform and its neighbours tell you how the task was done, not just how fast. Scripts, chapters and sources live on this page.