Atlantis Platforms

Name: Atlantis Platforms
Brand: Ugo Basile
SKU: 40100/40400

Product Code:40100/40400

Category: Mazes, Tracking

Atlantis System allows platforms in a Morris Water Maze to rise gently to near the surface or go down automatically, using the manual controller or TTL signals. From one to four platform systems available.

Enables extinction protocols on rats or mice. No need to stop the test to manually remove or reposition platforms.

Detailed description +-

Continuous testing, smart design

Uniquely enables continuous testing in a Morris Water Maze test by resolving a key limitation of the Morris Water Maze task – the probe test (when the platform is removed from the pool and the rodent searches for it). Traditionally moving the fixed height platform during a trial causes an interruption and requires a new start. The Atlantis platform can be collapsed (or lifted up), quickly and seamlessly. No more hands in the water!
All the electrical parts of the mechanism are safely located outside the pool.
Efficiency in testing with 1 or 4 platform systems available. Up to 4 platforms are driven by the same controller. The motors can be controlled using push buttons or TTL signals.
Atlantis hydraulic platform can also be used as a stand-alone tool, without motor/controller.
The platform is made of clear Perspex, so it is hardly visible when immersed in the water tank.
Use with our circular pool for the Morris Water Maze that provides connectors for attaching up to 4 platforms.

Features & Benefits +-

Feature	Benefit
4 Platforms with one Controller	Consistency of positioning in the 4 quadrants
Remote lifting/lowering control	No more hands in the pool!
Hydraulic system	No electricity in the pool
Manually or automated mode	Upward/downward movement precisely managed by controller and/or software

Specifications +-

General
Number of channels	4, independent
Operating Modes	Manual or TTL
Controls	Via control unit and/or software
Platform vertical range	25-35cm
Platform vertical travel	10cm
Platform speed	10mm/second
Platform diameter	10cm
Power	80V/240Vac, 50/60 Hz
Operating Temperature	10° to 40°C
Sound Level	Negligible
Pollution Degree	≤ 2
Physical
Number	1 Platform	4 Platforms
Weight	11Kg	30Kg
Shipping Weight	17Kg	39Kg
Packing	80x60x44cm	80x60x44cm x 2
Warranty
Warranty	Atlantis Platoform is covered by a 12-month warranty + 12 after product registration
UB-Care	Additional UB-Care can be added for other 12 or 24 months

Application +-

As described in the paper “The Atlantis Platform: A New Design and Further Developments of Buresova’s On-demand Platform for the Water Maze” by R.I.W. Spooner et alia, in the widely used spatial learning task of the water maze a (Morris 1981, 1984) rat (or mouse) will rapidly learn to take relatively direct paths to the platform, indicating they may have learned its spatial location.

Transfer tests, sometimes called probe tests, in which the platform is removed from the pool, offer further evidence of true spatial learning, as trained animals display a search pattern focusing on the platform location in the training quadrant.
For this reason, and despite its efficacy, the water maze task has some limitations: animals may develop strategies for finding the platform, such as circling at roughly the appropriate distance from the sidewall, which do not actually require them to learn where the platform is located, hence leading to falsely interpreted spatial learning.
To overcome these limits, the Atlantis platform was designed by Buresova et al. (1985) and validated in the above mentioned paper, proving that the platform is highly (100%) reliable and showing significantly improved localization of rats trained to the Atlantis platform compared with those trained to the regular hidden platform.
The Platform gradual rise to a position just below the water surface causes minimal behavioral disruption. The rats treat it as an escape platform in exactly the same way as the regular platform.

Ordering informations +-

40100 Complete 1-Platform System, including standard components
40100-001	4-Channel Controller
40101-002	Atlantis Platform
40101-003	Motor
E-AU 041	USB pen drive, including:
40100-302	Instruction Manual
40400 Complete 4-Platform System, including standard components
40100-001	4-Channel Controller
40101-002	Atlantis Platforms X 4
40101-003	Motors X 4
E-AU 041	USB pen drive, including:
40100-302	Instruction Manual
Options
40101	Additional platform and motor assembly

Main References +-

R.I.W. Spooner et al.: ”The Atlantis Platform: A New Design and Further Developments of Buresova’s On-demand Platform for the Water Maze” Learn. Mem. 1: 203-211, 1994

Resources & Downloads +-

Instruction Manual Leaflet Altantis Driver Ugo Basile Animal Mazes