The dry-land Barnes maze is widely used to measure spatial navigation ability in response to mildly aversive stimuli. Over consecutive days, performance (e.g. latency to locate escape cage) of control subjects improves, indicative of normal learning and memory. Differences between rats and mice necessitate apparatus and methodology changes that are detailed here.
Rosenfeld, C. S., Ferguson, S. A. Barnes Maze Testing Strategies with Small and Large Rodent Models. J. Vis. Exp. (84), e51194, doi:10.3791/51194 (2014).