Topographical memory analyzed in mice using the Hamlet test, a novel complex maze

•The Hamlet test is a novel complex environment for testing topographic memory in mice.•Exploration and memory differ in different mouse strains but not gender.•The hippocampus-subiculum-parahippocampal gyrus axis and dopaminergic structures are activated.•Training increased hippocampal neurogenesis (cell proliferation and neuronal maturation).•Topographical disorientation was measured in the Hamlet test using a pharmacological model of Alzheimer's disease.