Fig. 1: Behavioral performance during spatial learning in the Barnes maze.

a Schematic diagram of the Barnes maze. b–d Escape latency (b), goal-nose poke latency (c), and path efficiency to nose poke in the escape hole (d) across acquisition days in the Barnes maze. Clear blue represents data of individual mice; solid blue indicates the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; Tukey’s multiple comparisons test after one-way ANOVA. e Schematic diagram of the criterion for the distinction between searching and exploration task stages. f Example occupancy colorplots in the Barnes maze during the searching and exploration task stages of the same trial for each acquisition day. g–i Comparison of average duration (g), error counts (h), and error incidence (i) across training days between searching and exploration task stages. Clear blue and clear grey represent data of individual mice; solid blue and solid grey indicate the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; Sidak’s multiple comparisons test after two-way ANOVA. j Example occupancy colorplots of the navigation strategies used to find the goal in the Barnes maze. Strategies were classified as non-spatial or spatial if animals were directed toward the goal quadrant. k Normalized distribution of navigation strategies implemented across training days during the searching and exploration task stages.