The water maze is a particularly useful tool for assessment
of spatial memory ability in aged rats because it is reliably sensitive
to age-related impairments in spatial memory (15,19,21,
22,35). In addition, the water maze is well suited for testing older
rats because the motivating stimulus, escape from water, does
not require the food or water deprivation that is common in
appetitive tasks like the radial arm maze or T maze. The nutrient
restriction used in these appetitive tasks may endanger the
health of aged rats. Another benefit of the water maze is that