Barnes maze

Twenty-four hours after NOR test, mice were subjected to Barnes maze to test their short-term and long-term spatial learning and memory as previous studies (Wu W. et al., 2021). Barnes maze is a circular platform with 20 equally spaced holes (Anhui Zhenghua Biological Instrument equipments Co., Ltd., Anhui, China). One of the holes was connected to a dark chamber that was called target box. Aversive noise (85 dB) and bright light (200 W) shed on the platform were used to encourage mice to find the target box. The mice had a spatial acquisition phase that lasted for 4 days with 4 min per trial, 2 trials per day and 15 min between each trial. After training for 4 days, their spatial learning and memory was tested on day 5 (short-term) and day 12 (long-term). No test or handling was performed from day 5 to day 12. The latency to enter the target box during each trial was recorded and analyzed by video tracking system (Smart v3.0.06, Panlab Harvard Apparatus, Barcelona, Spain). The maze was cleaned with 75% ethanol after each test.