Y-maze spontaneous alternation test

The Y-maze task was used to evaluate spatial working memory and willingness to explore new environments. Testing occurred in a Y-shaped maze consisting of three arms at 120° and made of light gray plastic. Each arm was 6 cm wide and 36 cm long, and had 12.5 cm high walls. Mice were placed in the Y-maze individually and allowed to freely explore the three arms for 6 min, during which time the tracking software recorded the mouse’s movement. A mouse was considered to have entered an arm if all four limbs entered it, and to have excited it if all four limbs exited the arm. The number of arm entries and the number of consecutive entries into three different arms (alternating triad) was recorded to quantify the percentage of spontaneous alternation. Because the maximum number of alternating triads is equal to the total number of arm entries minus 2, the spontaneous alternation score was calculated as (number of alternating triads/[total number of arm entries -2]).