Resumen: Memory is one of the earliest cognitive functions to show decline during aging and
some neurodegenerative diseases and this decline has a social and economic impact on
individuals, families, the health care system, and society as a whole. Therefore, scientists
have been experimenting to find methods to prevent the memory loss associated with
neurodegeneration. The main strategy involved in these experiments is the use of animal
models to assess hippocampal-based spatial memory. This kind of memory encodes,
stores, recognizes and recalls spatial information about the environment and the agent¿s
orientation within it and it is essential for independence, safety and a good quality of life.
In order to understand the pathophysiology of brain aging and to gain insight into the
potential mechanisms underlying spatial memory dysfunctions many rodent behavioral
tasks have been specifically designed, including Morris water maze (MWM), radial arm
water maze (RAWM), Barnes maze or T-maze. Among them, the most widely employed
spatial working memory test is MWM. Theoretically, preclinical rodent cognitive testing
would assess identical cognitive domains to those examined through neuropsychological
testing in human. However, researchers need to be aware of the advantages as well as of
the potential weaknesses of the available behavioral models in terms of their ability to
model cognitive changes observed in human.