Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (713 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A process through which individuals encode information about their environmental CUES to facilitate spatial navigation.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Learning, Spatial; Learnings, Spatial; Spatial Learnings.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Spatial Behavior; Learning
- Narrower topics
- Maze Learning
- See also
- Space Perception; Spatial Memory
Related concepts
- Spatial Navigation
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 27,045 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Spatial Learning” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 5,364 of them (19.8%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2010-2019 with 12,579 records.
Reviews account for 365 records (1.3%) and meta-analyses for 32. Randomized controlled trials number 67 (0.2%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 1,768 |
| 2000-2009 | 7,334 |
| 2010-2019 | 12,579 |
| 2020 onward | 5,364 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 365 | 1.3% |
| Meta-analyses | 32 | 0.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 67 | 0.2% |
Method: PubMed query "Spatial Learning"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in psychiatry and psychology
Research on mental health and behaviour relies on questionnaires, interviews and rating scales rather than physical measurements, so how a condition was defined and measured shapes every result. Many studies are observational or small, placebo responses can be large, and findings in one group or culture may not carry over to another. Nothing on this page is advice about diagnosis or treatment; anyone worried about their mental health should talk to a qualified clinician. Check how outcomes were measured, who took part and how long they were followed.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
Fecal microbiota transplantation alleviated Alzheimer's disease-like pathogenesis in APP/PS1 transgenic mice [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common dementia in the elderly.
- Closing excerpt
- Thus, FMT may be a potential therapeutic strategy for AD.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (207 words)
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common dementia in the elderly. Treatment for AD is still a difficult task in clinic. AD is associated with abnormal gut microbiota. However, little is known about the role of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in AD. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of FMT for the treatment of AD. We used an APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic (Tg) mouse model. Cognitive deficits, brain deposits of amyloid-β (Aβ) and phosphorylation of tau, synaptic plasticity as well as neuroinflammation were assessed. Gut microbiota and its metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Our results showed that FMT treatment could improve cognitive deficits and reduce the brain deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) in APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic (Tg) mice. These improvements were accompanied by decreased phosphorylation of tau protein and the levels of Aβ40 and Aβ42. We observed an increases in synaptic plasticity in the Tg mice, showing that postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) and synapsin I expression were increased after FMT. We also observed the decrease of COX-2 and CD11b levels in Tg mice after FMT. We also found that FMT treatment reversed the changes of gut microbiota and SCFAs. Thus, FMT may be a potential therapeutic strategy for AD.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 31383855 · DOI · PMC6683152
High-Fat Diet Enhances Working Memory in the Y-Maze Test in Male C57BL/6J Mice with Less Anxiety in the Elevated Plus Maze Test [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Obesity is characterized by massive adipose tissue accumulation and is associated with psychiatric disorders and cognitive impairment in human and animal models.
- Closing excerpt
- Correlation analysis of individual traits is a useful tool to determine those conditions.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (198 words)
Obesity is characterized by massive adipose tissue accumulation and is associated with psychiatric disorders and cognitive impairment in human and animal models. However, it is unclear whether high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity presents a risk of psychiatric disorders and cognitive impairment. To examine this question, we conducted systematic behavioral analyses in C57BL/6J mice (male, 8-week-old) fed an HFD for 7 weeks. C57BL/6J mice fed an HFD showed significantly increased body weight, hyperlocomotion in the open-field test (OFT) and Y-maze test (YMZT), and impaired sucrose preference in the sucrose consumption test, compared to mice fed a normal diet. Neither body weight nor body weight gain was associated with any of the behavioral traits we examined. Working memory, as assessed by the YMZT, and anxiety-like behavior, as assessed by the elevated plus maze test (EPMT), were significantly correlated with mice fed an HFD, although these behavioral traits did not affect the entire group. These results suggest that HFD-induced obesity does not induce neuropsychiatric symptoms in C57BL/6J mice. Rather, HFD improved working memory in C57BL/6J mice with less anxiety, indicating that an HFD might be beneficial under limited conditions. Correlation analysis of individual traits is a useful tool to determine those conditions.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 32659954 · DOI · PMC7400900
Apparatus design and behavioural testing protocol for the evaluation of spatial working memory in mice through the spontaneous alternation T-maze [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Spatial working memory can be assessed in mice through the spontaneous alternation T-maze test.
- Closing excerpt
- We describe here in detail the apparatus and the protocol, providing representative results on wild-type healthy mice.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (151 words)
Spatial working memory can be assessed in mice through the spontaneous alternation T-maze test. The T-maze is a T-shaped apparatus featuring a stem (start arm) and two lateral goal arms (left and right arms). The procedure is based on the natural tendency of rodents to prefer exploring a novel arm over a familiar one, which induces them to alternate the choice of the goal arm across repeated trials. During the task, in order to successfully alternate choices across trials, an animal has to remember which arm had been visited in the previous trial, which makes spontaneous alternation T-maze an optimal test for spatial working memory. As this test relies on a spontaneous behaviour and does not require rewards, punishments or pre-training, it represents a particularly useful tool for cognitive evaluation, both time-saving and animal-friendly. We describe here in detail the apparatus and the protocol, providing representative results on wild-type healthy mice.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 34707108 · DOI · PMC8551159
Ppp2r1a haploinsufficiency increases excitatory synaptic transmission and decreases spatial learning by impairing endocannabinoid signaling [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a serine/threonine phosphatase in the brain.
- Closing excerpt
- Our findings uncover an unexpected role of PPP2R1A in regulating endocannabinoid signaling, providing fresh molecular and synaptic insights into the mechanisms underlying intellectual disability.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (157 words)
Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a serine/threonine phosphatase in the brain. Mutations in PPP2R1A, encoding the scaffolding subunit, are linked to intellectual disability, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined mice with heterozygous deletion of Ppp2r1a in forebrain excitatory neurons (NEX-het-conditional knockout [NEX-het-cKO]). These mice exhibited impaired spatial learning and memory, resembling Ppp2r1a-associated intellectual disability. Ppp2r1a haploinsufficiency also led to increased excitatory synaptic strength and reduced inhibitory synapse numbers on pyramidal neurons. The increased excitatory synaptic transmission was attributed to increased presynaptic release probability, likely due to reduced levels of 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG). This reduction in 2-AG was associated with increased transcription of monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), driven by destabilization of enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) in NEX-het-cKO mice. Importantly, the MAGL inhibitor JZL184 effectively restored both synaptic and learning deficits. Our findings uncover an unexpected role of PPP2R1A in regulating endocannabinoid signaling, providing fresh molecular and synaptic insights into the mechanisms underlying intellectual disability.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 40839403 · DOI · PMC12404745
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Applications of the Morris water maze in the study of learning and memory [5]
- Research article A cortical-hippocampal system for declarative memory [6]
- Research article Ethological and temporal analyses of anxiety-like behavior: the elevated plus-maze model 20 years on [7]
- Research article Assessing spatial learning and memory in rodents [8]
- Research article The effects of practice on the functional anatomy of task performance [9]
- Research article Maze procedures: the radial-arm and water maze compared [10]
References
- Sun J, Xu J, Ling Y, Wang F, Gong T, Yang C, et al.. Fecal microbiota transplantation alleviated Alzheimer's disease-like pathogenesis in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. . 2019. PMID 31383855 · DOI · PMC6683152
- Yoshizaki K, Asai M, Hara T. High-Fat Diet Enhances Working Memory in the Y-Maze Test in Male C57BL/6J Mice with Less Anxiety in the Elevated Plus Maze Test. . 2020. PMID 32659954 · DOI · PMC7400900
- d'Isa R, Comi G, Leocani L. Apparatus design and behavioural testing protocol for the evaluation of spatial working memory in mice through the spontaneous alternation T-maze. . 2021. PMID 34707108 · DOI · PMC8551159
- Wang Y, Duan W, Li H, Tang Z, Cai R, Cai S, et al.. Ppp2r1a haploinsufficiency increases excitatory synaptic transmission and decreases spatial learning by impairing endocannabinoid signaling. . 2025. PMID 40839403 · DOI · PMC12404745
- D'Hooge R, De Deyn PP. Applications of the Morris water maze in the study of learning and memory. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2001. PMID 11516773 · DOI
- Eichenbaum H. A cortical-hippocampal system for declarative memory. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2000. PMID 11252767 · DOI
- Carobrez AP, Bertoglio LJ. Ethological and temporal analyses of anxiety-like behavior: the elevated plus-maze model 20 years on. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2005. PMID 16084592 · DOI
- Vorhees CV, Williams MT. Assessing spatial learning and memory in rodents. ILAR J. 2014. PMID 25225309 · DOI · PMC4240437
- Petersen SE, van Mier H, Fiez JA, Raichle ME. The effects of practice on the functional anatomy of task performance. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998. PMID 9448251 · DOI · PMC33808
- Hodges H. Maze procedures: the radial-arm and water maze compared. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 1996. PMID 8806020 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.