Gaming Platform Used to Compare Memory Impairments of Epileptic Rodents, Humans

Researchers recreated the Morris water maze (MWM) — a behavioral test used on rodents to study spatial learning and memory — using software developed to create custom video game environments as means of studying human behavior. By building a virtual reality analogue for humans, they were able to obtain a direct comparison between the results of studies on a rodent model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), whose spatial memory performance was found to be severely impaired and patients with TLE.

The simulation program developed using the “Source Engine” (ValveTM) software was used to create an environment similar to that of a submerged water platform of the Morris water maze. In this study by the neurology department at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, UCL Institute of Child Health in London, UK, one healthy volunteers and six patients with epilepsy were studied. The results were presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s 66th annual meeting. For more information, click here to read the full release.