Sound intensities between 40 dB and 50 dB are suitable for acoustic-cued water maze tests

Sound intensities between 40 dB and 50 dB are suitable for acoustic-cued water maze tests | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Short Report Sound intensities between 40 dB and 50 dB are suitable for acoustic-cued water maze tests Xiaodong Han, Zhaoying Fu, Yanna Jiang, Zhe Zhang, Cheng Gao, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4234979/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in BMC Research Notes → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We carried out an acoustic-cued water maze experiment at three sound intensity levels (30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB) in 30 mice (10 per group), aiming to determine the sound intensity suitable for an acoustic-cued water maze. The results showed that sound intensities at both 40 dB and 50 dB were effective in terms of the escape latency, the first crossing, the crossing number, and the quadrant time, and the effectiveness of both were about the same. On the other hand, a sound intensity of 30 dB was not as effective because there was no statistically significant improvement in escape latency across training days. Therefore, we consider sound intensities between 40 dB and 50 dB to be suitable for acoustic-cued water maze tests. Morris water maze acoustic-cued water maze escape latency first crossing crossing number quadrant time Figures Figure 1 Introduction The Morris water maze (MWM) is the classic and most frequently used test for studying spatial learning and memory in rodents 1 , 2 . To date, several types of water mazes have been developed based on the classic MWM test, one of which is the acoustic-cued water maze 3 . While the conventional MWM uses visual cue, the acoustic-cued water maze, as its name suggests, employs sound as the cue. The acoustic-cued water maze can extend the application of the MWM and can be used to study murine learning and memory when the animals have visual deficits, or to study harmful agents or risk factors for hearing loss as well as interventional measures to improve or protect hearing and thus has expanded the applications of water maze tests 4 – 7 . This paper compares the effects of different sound intensities on acoustic-cued water maze tests, aiming to determine an appropriate sound intensity to perform the acoustic-cued water maze test. Materials and Methods Animals and grouping. SPF female KM mice aged 12 weeks were used. The animals were maintained on a 12 h light/12 h dark cycle with free access to food and water. Thirty mice were randomly divided into three sound intensity groups: 30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB, with 20 mice in each group. The experimental protocol and the use of the animals were in accordance with the guidelines and regulations of Yan’an University and were approved by the institutional academic committee. Apparatus. The water tank and the video tracking system (video camera and software Xeye 3.2) were purchased from Beijing Zhongshi Dichuang Technology Development Co., Ltd. The water tank is 120 cm in diameter and 40 cm in height. The inside wall of the tank is white, and the bottom wall is black. The platform is 19 cm high with a top surface area of 9 cm in diameter and is painted black. To make the platform invisible, the water was filled to a depth of ~ 19.7 cm, and a black food colorant (Shandong Kaibei Food Co., Ltd.) was added to the water. During the experiment, the temperature of the water was kept at 25°C (variation was within 1°C). The water was changed every 3 days. The pool was arbitrarily divided into four quadrants: NE, NW, SW, and SE for convenience of description. Acoustic cue. The acoustic cue was created by a Bluetooth speaker, which could be placed, depending on the need, to the outside of any quadrant of the pool where the invisible platform was located. The Bluetooth speaker was mounted to the outside brim of the tank. The frequency of the buzzer sound was approximately 1000 Hz, and three levels of sound intensity (30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB) were used. Procedures. Day 1 Place the mouse on an invisible platform located in the NW quadrant of the pool and let it remain there for 15 s. Lower the animal into the water in the SE quadrant, with the animal facing the wall of the pool, and allow it to swim and climb onto the platform. After the animal climbed onto the platform, it was removed from the pool. If the animal failed to find the platform within 60 s, it was guided there and allowed to stay there for 10 s before being removed. The animal was wiped with a dry towel and placed in a cage with clean and warm bedding. The above steps were repeated for the other two quadrants. The above procedures were performed for all animals. A video tracking system was used to follow the animal, and the time an animal spent in finding the hidden platform was recorded as the escape latency. If the animal did not find the platform within 60 s, the escape latency was recorded as 60 s. Day 2 Move the platform to another quadrant in the pool, keeping the position of the platform the same relative to the acoustic cue. Then the same procedures as on day 1 were performed, but the animals were placed in the water in a quadrant order different from that on day 1. Day 3 ~ Day 4 Repeat Day 1 and Day 2. Day 5 The platform was removed from the pool. The animal was placed in the water in the quadrant opposite the quadrant where the platform had been located, with the animal facing the tank wall. The time elapsed when the animal crossed the former platform position for the first time (first crossing), the number the animal crossed the former platform position (crossing number), and the time the animal spent in the former platform quadrant (quadrant time) were recorded using the video tracking system. Statistical analysis. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 26.0 software. One-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) combined post hoc test was used to analyse the data. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Comparison of the escape latency across the four training days Data on escape latency were collected for the three dB groups (30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB) and across four training days. The data showed that the escape latency decreased daily across the four training days in all three groups; ANOVA indicated that for the 30-dB group, the daily changes were not statistically significant (P > 0.05), while for both the 40-dB and 50-dB groups, the decrease of the escape latency on both day 3 and day 4 were statistically significant compared with the escape latency on day 1 (P < 0.05). See Fig. 1 and Table 1 . The results suggest that the acoustic-cued water maze may be well applied to test murine learning and memory when the sound intensity is between 40 dB and 50 dB (though a sound intensity of 30 dB is not as effective). Note 1) Error bars represent the standard error of the mean. 2) See Table 1 for detailed statistical parameters. Table 1 Comparisons of escape latency (mean ± SD, in seconds) across four training days at three dB levels dB levels n Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 F value P value 30 dB 30 38.13 ± 22.99 34.34 ± 22.55 31.59 ± 20.59 25.43 ± 22.42 1.750 0.161 40 dB 30 38.35 ± 21.23 33.08 ± 21.83 24.47 ± 18.95* 25.28 ± 21.88* 2.984 0.034 50 dB 30 37.56 ± 20.90 34.60 ± 21.57 24.97 ± 16.54* 24.92 ± 19.68* 3.288 0.023 Note: 1) The number of mice in each dB group was 10; each mouse was tested 3 times (placed in water in three different quadrants), so the number of trials for each dB level (n) was 30. 2) *P < 0.05 vs. Day 1. Comparison of the escape latency among the three dB groups The escape latency among the three dB groups was compared across the four training days. ANOVA showed that the differences among the three dB groups were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). See Table 2 . Although the results seemed to suggest that sound intensities of 30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB could all be used equally effectively in the acoustic-cued water maze experiment, the results of escape latency across four training days did not indicate this (see results above). Table 2 Comparisons of escape latency (mean ± SD, in seconds) among the three dB groups on four training days dB groups n Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 30 dB 30 38.13 ± 22.99 34.34 ± 22.55 31.59 ± 20.59 25.43 ± 22.42 40 dB 30 38.35 ± 21.23 33.08 ± 21.83 24.47 ± 18.95 25.28 ± 21.88 50 dB 30 37.56 ± 20.90 34.60 ± 21.57 24.97 ± 16.54 24.92 ± 19.68 F value - 0.010 0.041 1.345 0.004 P value - 0.990 0.960 0.266 0.996 Note: The number of mice in each dB group was 10; each mouse was tested 3 times (placed in water in three different quadrants), so the number of trials for each dB level (n) was 30. Comparison of probe trial parameters among the three dB groups On day 5 of the experiment, probe trials were conducted, during which the platform was removed from the pool, and the probe trial parameters, including first crossing (the time elapsed as the animal crossed the former platform position for the first time), crossing number (the number of times the animal crossed the former platform position), and quadrant time (the time the animal spent in the former platform quadrant), were collected. ANOVA showed that the differences among the three dB groups with respect to the first crossing, the crossing number, and the quadrant time were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). See Table 3 . These results also seemed to suggest that sound intensities between 30 dB and 50 dB could all be used equally effectively in the acoustic-cued water maze, although the escape latency across four training days did not indicate this effect (see above). Table 3 Comparison of probe trial parameters (mean ± SD) among the three dB groups dB groups n First crossing (s) Number crossing Quadrant time (s) 30 dB 10 26.90 ± 15.57 2.90 ± 1.66 11.31 ± 16.26 40 dB 10 23.40 ± 21.78 3.70 ± 2.87 29.16 ± 20.61 50 dB 10 13.80 ± 16.93 3.70 ± 1.64 20.79 ± 24.22 F value - 1.681 0.468 1.876 P value - 0.205 0.631 0.173 Discussion Sound can be used as the cue to perform water maze tests. We have recently developed an acoustic-cued water maze test 3 . To determine the optimal sound intensity for the acoustic-cued water maze test, in this study, we used three dB levels of sound intensity: 30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB to perform the acoustic cue water maze test. We measured the escape latency across four training days, and measured the parameters of the probe trials including the time of the first crossing and, the number of crossings, the quadrant time. The outcomes in the three dB groups were compared using one-way ANOVA plus post hoc test. We found that sound intensities of 30 dB, 40 dB and 50 dB were approximately the same effective with reference to the first crossing, crossing number, and quadrant time; nevertheless, regarding the improvements in escape latency across training days, sound intensities at both 40 dB and 50 dB was more effective than that at 30 dB. In summary, we performed acoustic-cued water maze examinations using three sound intensity levels and found that sound intensity between 40 ~ 50 dB is more suitable for the acoustic-cued water maze test. Declarations Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding: There is no funding at present. Author Contribution Z.Y.F. designed the research, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper; X.H., Y.J., Z.Z., C.G., S.W., and M.C. performed the research. All authors reviewed the manuscript. Data Availability The datasets generated and analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. References Morris R. Developments of a water-maze procedure for studying spatial learning in the rat. J Neurosci Methods. 1984;11:47–60. 10.1016/0165-0270(84)90007-4 . Forero MG, et al. A new automatic method for tracking rats in the Morris water maze. Heliyon. 2023;9:e18367. 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18367 . Fu ZY. Development of a sound-cued water maze experiment. PNAS USA Under review (2024). Natarajan N, Batts S, Stankovic KM. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. J Clin Med. 2023;12. 10.3390/jcm12062347 . Tan WJT, Vlajkovic SM. Molecular Characteristics of Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity and Therapeutic Interventions. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24. 10.3390/ijms242216545 . Xu K, et al. Intrinsic mechanism and pharmacologic treatments of noise-induced hearing loss. Theranostics. 2023;13:3524–49. 10.7150/thno.83383 . Yang P, Xie H, Li Y, Jin K. The Effect of Noise Exposure on High-Frequency Hearing Loss among Chinese Workers: A Meta-Analysis. Healthc (Basel Switzerland). 2023;11. 10.3390/healthcare11081079 . Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in BMC Research Notes → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Apr, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 14 Apr, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 14 Apr, 2024 First submitted to journal 08 Apr, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4234979","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":291098123,"identity":"c55fdf03-c078-40ed-a298-58ef62029ddc","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaodong Han","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yan'an University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaodong","middleName":"","lastName":"Han","suffix":""},{"id":291098124,"identity":"4ca94311-3857-4b4c-a1ef-b2ccba20f10f","order_by":1,"name":"Zhaoying Fu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA90lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCRBhAMTMBxgfQIQSiNXClsBsQIIWBrAWNgmitMjPbn74mKfgjl0DG49ZNU/NYQZ+9hwDhp87cGthnHPM2JjH4FkySMttnmOHGSR73hgw9p7BrYVZIsFMmsfgcDKDfA9QC9thBoMbOQbMjG24tbBJpH+DaAHaUszz7zCDPSEtPBI5YFvsQFqYeduAtkgQ0CIhkVNsOMfgcAIDG1ux5Ny+dB6JM88KDvbi0SI/I33jgzd/DtszsDFv/PDmm7Ucf3vyxgc/8WgBASYeBobE/QcgDB6QyAH8GoAB/YOBwR7GGAWjYBSMglGAAQD3mUd9rwZ89AAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Yan'an University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhaoying","middleName":"","lastName":"Fu","suffix":""},{"id":291098125,"identity":"c4c3ced5-7c5c-47f4-a260-3896a0cccbd1","order_by":2,"name":"Yanna Jiang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yan'an University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yanna","middleName":"","lastName":"Jiang","suffix":""},{"id":291098126,"identity":"f1a151e7-6d9e-4595-a993-37a6026bc5d4","order_by":3,"name":"Zhe Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yan'an University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhe","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":291098127,"identity":"188528f8-b71f-47e0-9045-d62d2178dd53","order_by":4,"name":"Cheng Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yan'an University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Cheng","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":291098128,"identity":"ca10abd9-2e54-4a1c-96eb-4bc42c8596d7","order_by":5,"name":"Shuai Wu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yan'an University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shuai","middleName":"","lastName":"Wu","suffix":""},{"id":291098129,"identity":"9df9a0eb-9b5b-4cce-a272-155e233c3ffc","order_by":6,"name":"Meini Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yan'an University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Meini","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-04-08 08:20:01","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4234979/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4234979/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-026-07669-x","type":"published","date":"2026-01-24T15:58:45+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":54857426,"identity":"637b5f26-ee4a-43c4-bf2f-18a6ad3cd2df","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-17 18:28:55","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":5286,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDecreases in escape latency across the 4 training days.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote: 1) Error bars represent the standard error of the mean. 2) See Table 1 for detailed statistical parameters.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Onlinedrawingimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4234979/v1/84f4d7b0f215f29360f51bd4.png"},{"id":101151898,"identity":"127b2fd8-dd29-4a72-a1d4-bfd8baa1499b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-26 16:07:27","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":570115,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4234979/v1/430c3096-1d56-45a2-9e6a-d529946914fc.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Sound intensities between 40 dB and 50 dB are suitable for acoustic-cued water maze tests","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Morris water maze (MWM) is the classic and most frequently used test for studying spatial learning and memory in rodents\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e,\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. To date, several types of water mazes have been developed based on the classic MWM test, one of which is the acoustic-cued water maze\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. While the conventional MWM uses visual cue, the acoustic-cued water maze, as its name suggests, employs sound as the cue. The acoustic-cued water maze can extend the application of the MWM and can be used to study murine learning and memory when the animals have visual deficits, or to study harmful agents or risk factors for hearing loss as well as interventional measures to improve or protect hearing and thus has expanded the applications of water maze tests\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR5 CR6\" citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. This paper compares the effects of different sound intensities on acoustic-cued water maze tests, aiming to determine an appropriate sound intensity to perform the acoustic-cued water maze test.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnimals and grouping.\u003c/b\u003e SPF female KM mice aged 12 weeks were used. The animals were maintained on a 12 h light/12 h dark cycle with free access to food and water. Thirty mice were randomly divided into three sound intensity groups: 30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB, with 20 mice in each group. The experimental protocol and the use of the animals were in accordance with the guidelines and regulations of Yan\u0026rsquo;an University and were approved by the institutional academic committee.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eApparatus.\u003c/b\u003e The water tank and the video tracking system (video camera and software Xeye 3.2) were purchased from Beijing Zhongshi Dichuang Technology Development Co., Ltd. The water tank is 120 cm in diameter and 40 cm in height. The inside wall of the tank is white, and the bottom wall is black. The platform is 19 cm high with a top surface area of 9 cm in diameter and is painted black. To make the platform invisible, the water was filled to a depth of ~\u0026thinsp;19.7 cm, and a black food colorant (Shandong Kaibei Food Co., Ltd.) was added to the water. During the experiment, the temperature of the water was kept at 25\u0026deg;C (variation was within 1\u0026deg;C). The water was changed every 3 days. The pool was arbitrarily divided into four quadrants: NE, NW, SW, and SE for convenience of description.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eAcoustic cue.\u003c/b\u003e The acoustic cue was created by a Bluetooth speaker, which could be placed, depending on the need, to the outside of any quadrant of the pool where the invisible platform was located. The Bluetooth speaker was mounted to the outside brim of the tank. The frequency of the buzzer sound was approximately 1000 Hz, and three levels of sound intensity (30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB) were used.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eProcedures.\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eDay 1\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlace the mouse on an invisible platform located in the NW quadrant of the pool and let it remain there for 15 s. Lower the animal into the water in the SE quadrant, with the animal facing the wall of the pool, and allow it to swim and climb onto the platform. After the animal climbed onto the platform, it was removed from the pool. If the animal failed to find the platform within 60 s, it was guided there and allowed to stay there for 10 s before being removed. The animal was wiped with a dry towel and placed in a cage with clean and warm bedding. The above steps were repeated for the other two quadrants. The above procedures were performed for all animals.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA video tracking system was used to follow the animal, and the time an animal spent in finding the hidden platform was recorded as the escape latency. If the animal did not find the platform within 60 s, the escape latency was recorded as 60 s.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eDay 2\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eMove the platform to another quadrant in the pool, keeping the position of the platform the same relative to the acoustic cue. Then the same procedures as on day 1 were performed, but the animals were placed in the water in a quadrant order different from that on day 1.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eDay 3\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;Day 4\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eRepeat Day 1 and Day 2.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eDay 5\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe platform was removed from the pool. The animal was placed in the water in the quadrant opposite the quadrant where the platform had been located, with the animal facing the tank wall. The time elapsed when the animal crossed the former platform position for the first time (first crossing), the number the animal crossed the former platform position (crossing number), and the time the animal spent in the former platform quadrant (quadrant time) were recorded using the video tracking system.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis.\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eStatistical analysis was performed with SPSS 26.0 software. One-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) combined post hoc test was used to analyse the data. P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 was considered statistically significant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eComparison of the escape latency\u003c/b\u003e \u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eacross the four training days\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eData on escape latency were collected for the three dB groups (30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB) and across four training days. The data showed that the escape latency decreased daily across the four training days in all three groups; ANOVA indicated that for the 30-dB group, the daily changes were not statistically significant (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), while for both the 40-dB and 50-dB groups, the decrease of the escape latency on both day 3 and day 4 were statistically significant compared with the escape latency on day 1 (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). See Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. The results suggest that the acoustic-cued water maze may be well applied to test murine learning and memory when the sound intensity is between 40 dB and 50 dB (though a sound intensity of 30 dB is not as effective).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eNote\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e1) Error bars represent the standard error of the mean. 2) See Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e for detailed statistical parameters.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparisons of escape latency (mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;SD, in seconds) across four training days at three dB levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003edB levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDay 1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDay 2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDay 3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDay 4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.13\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;22.99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.34\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;22.55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.59\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;20.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.43\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;22.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.750\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.161\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.35\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.08\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.47\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;18.95*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.28\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.88*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.984\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.034\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.56\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;20.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.60\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.97\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;16.54*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\"\u0026plusmn;\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.92\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;19.68*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.288\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.023\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"8\"\u003eNote: 1) The number of mice in each dB group was 10; each mouse was tested 3 times (placed in water in three different quadrants), so the number of trials for each dB level (n) was 30. 2) *P\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 vs. Day 1.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eComparison of the escape latency\u003c/b\u003e \u003cspan type=\"BoldUnderline\" class=\"BoldUnderline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eamong the three dB groups\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe escape latency among the three dB groups was compared across the four training days. ANOVA showed that the differences among the three dB groups were not statistically significant (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). See Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. Although the results seemed to suggest that sound intensities of 30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB could all be used equally effectively in the acoustic-cued water maze experiment, the results of escape latency across four training days did not indicate this (see results above).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparisons of escape latency (mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;SD, in seconds) among the three dB groups on four training days\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003edB groups\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDay 1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDay 2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDay 3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDay 4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.13\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;22.99\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.34\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;22.55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.59\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;20.59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.43\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;22.42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.35\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.08\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.47\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;18.95\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.28\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.56\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;20.90\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.60\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.97\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;16.54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.92\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;19.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.010\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.345\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.990\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.960\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.266\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.996\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003eNote: The number of mice in each dB group was 10; each mouse was tested 3 times (placed in water in three different quadrants), so the number of trials for each dB level (n) was 30.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eComparison of probe trial parameters among the three dB groups\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOn day 5 of the experiment, probe trials were conducted, during which the platform was removed from the pool, and the probe trial parameters, including \u003cb\u003efirst crossing\u003c/b\u003e (the time elapsed as the animal crossed the former platform position for the first time), \u003cb\u003ecrossing number\u003c/b\u003e (the number of times the animal crossed the former platform position), and \u003cb\u003equadrant time\u003c/b\u003e (the time the animal spent in the former platform quadrant), were collected. ANOVA showed that the differences among the three dB groups with respect to the first crossing, the crossing number, and the quadrant time were not statistically significant (P\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). See Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. These results also seemed to suggest that sound intensities between 30 dB and 50 dB could all be used equally effectively in the acoustic-cued water maze, although the escape latency across four training days did not indicate this effect (see above).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComparison of probe trial parameters (mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;SD) among the three dB groups\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003edB groups\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFirst crossing (s)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber crossing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuadrant time (s)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.90\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;15.57\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.90\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.31\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;16.26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.40\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;21.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.70\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;2.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.16\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;20.61\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50 dB\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.80\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;16.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.70\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.79\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;24.22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.681\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.468\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.876\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.205\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.631\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.173\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eSound can be used as the cue to perform water maze tests. We have recently developed an acoustic-cued water maze test\u003csup\u003e\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e. To determine the optimal sound intensity for the acoustic-cued water maze test, in this study, we used three dB levels of sound intensity: 30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB to perform the acoustic cue water maze test. We measured the escape latency across four training days, and measured the parameters of the probe trials including the time of the first crossing and, the number of crossings, the quadrant time. The outcomes in the three dB groups were compared using one-way ANOVA plus post hoc test.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe found that sound intensities of 30 dB, 40 dB and 50 dB were approximately the same effective with reference to the first crossing, crossing number, and quadrant time; nevertheless, regarding the improvements in escape latency across training days, sound intensities at both 40 dB and 50 dB was more effective than that at 30 dB.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn summary, we performed acoustic-cued water maze examinations using three sound intensity levels and found that sound intensity between 40\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;50 dB is more suitable for the acoustic-cued water maze test.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCompeting interests:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere is no funding at present.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eZ.Y.F. designed the research, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper; X.H., Y.J., Z.Z., C.G., S.W., and M.C. performed the research. All authors reviewed the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe datasets generated and analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMorris R. Developments of a water-maze procedure for studying spatial learning in the rat. J Neurosci Methods. 1984;11:47\u0026ndash;60. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1016/0165-0270(84)90007-4\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/0165-0270(84)90007-4\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eForero MG, et al. A new automatic method for tracking rats in the Morris water maze. Heliyon. 2023;9:e18367. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18367\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18367\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFu ZY. Development of a sound-cued water maze experiment. PNAS USA Under review (2024).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNatarajan N, Batts S, Stankovic KM. Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. J Clin Med. 2023;12. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.3390/jcm12062347\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3390/jcm12062347\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTan WJT, Vlajkovic SM. Molecular Characteristics of Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity and Therapeutic Interventions. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.3390/ijms242216545\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3390/ijms242216545\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eXu K, et al. Intrinsic mechanism and pharmacologic treatments of noise-induced hearing loss. Theranostics. 2023;13:3524\u0026ndash;49. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.7150/thno.83383\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.7150/thno.83383\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYang P, Xie H, Li Y, Jin K. The Effect of Noise Exposure on High-Frequency Hearing Loss among Chinese Workers: A Meta-Analysis. Healthc (Basel Switzerland). 2023;11. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.3390/healthcare11081079\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3390/healthcare11081079\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-research-notes","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"resn","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Research Notes](http://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/resn/default.aspx","title":"BMC Research Notes","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Morris water maze, acoustic-cued water maze, escape latency, first crossing, crossing number, quadrant time","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4234979/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4234979/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWe carried out an acoustic-cued water maze experiment at three sound intensity levels (30 dB, 40 dB, and 50 dB) in 30 mice (10 per group), aiming to determine the sound intensity suitable for an acoustic-cued water maze. The results showed that sound intensities at both 40 dB and 50 dB were effective in terms of the escape latency, the first crossing, the crossing number, and the quadrant time, and the effectiveness of both were about the same. On the other hand, a sound intensity of 30 dB was not as effective because there was no statistically significant improvement in escape latency across training days. Therefore, we consider sound intensities between 40 dB and 50 dB to be suitable for acoustic-cued water maze tests.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Sound intensities between 40 dB and 50 dB are suitable for acoustic-cued water maze tests","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-04-17 18:28:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4234979/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-04-23T11:27:23+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-04-14T23:41:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-04-14T23:41:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Research Notes","date":"2024-04-08T08:18:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-research-notes","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"resn","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Research Notes](http://bmcresnotes.biomedcentral.com)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/resn/default.aspx","title":"BMC Research Notes","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0f61d980-d213-41df-a437-14ba8f7b7929","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 17th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-26T16:03:47+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4234979","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-026-07669-x","journal":{"identity":"bmc-research-notes","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Research Notes"},"publishedOn":"2026-01-24 15:58:45","publishedOnDateReadable":"January 24th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-04-17 18:28:51","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s13104-026-07669-x","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-026-07669-x","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4234979","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4234979","identity":"rs-4234979","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}