This study tested 12 rats’ spatial ability in the Morris water maze to check for gender difference.
The paper is presented in the form of an experiment which was designed to test the spatial ability of six male and six female rats using the Morris water maze, in order to see if a gender difference was present. The paper describes the experiment – it shows that surrounding the submerged platform were four geometric cues and each rat ran three training and six testing trials on the first day, then six testing trials on the second day. Results showed that there was no significant difference in gender spatial ability. The paper attributed this finding to the fact that many variables were not controlled.
Since its creation by Richard G. M. Morris, the Morris water maze (MWM) has helped researchers understand the spatial ability of rats. Many scientific experiments done using animals are aimed to predict the outcome of human beings when presented with the same situation. The studies done using the MWM were meant to reflect on the spatial ability of humans as well as of other species. These studies wanted to answer the basic question of how does an organism reach its goal object if they cannot see it? Rats were used in these experiments for many practical reasons. Rats are easy to handle and care for. Rats have a shorter lifespan than humans, for example, do. They will reach adolescence after six months while humans typically reach adolescence after twelve years. The following literature tests different groups of rats placed in different situations, the difference between male and female rats? spatial ability, the difference between male and female rats with age as an important factor, and the difference between male and female rats after a brain impairment.