Maguire

Question 1

What is the background to maguires study?

Answer 1

Hippocampal volumes enlarge during seasons when demand for spatial ability is greatest within some species of animals

Question 2

What is maguires sample?

Answer 2

16 Male taxi drivers
Aged 32-62
Right handed
Completed the knowledge

Question 3

What was the procedure like?

Answer 3

MRI scans were taken of the taxi drivers. Maguire chose 50 scans to compare the taxi drivers scans against. It was analysed in two ways.
Pixel counting
-Pixels counted up manually to compare sizes of the brain
VBM
-A computer based technique that used a 3D measurement of volume

Question 4

What were the findings?

Answer 4

Taxi drivers had:
-More grey matter in the rear parts of their hippocampus
-less grey matter in the front of their hippocampus
In a correlational study by maguire, it was found that:
There was a positive correlation between length of time as a taxi driver and volume of grey matter in the back of the hippocampus
There was a negative correlation between length of years as a taxi driver and volume of grey matter in the front of their hippocampus.

Question 5

What was concluded by maguire?

Answer 5

The human brain has plasticity. Changes in the hippocampus can occur in line with demands placed on taxi drivers by their job

Question 6

What are the similarities between maguire and Blakemore and cooper?

Answer 6

Both gathered quantitative data
Both are somewhat ethical
(limited harm by using two kittens)

Question 7

What are the differences between Blakemore and cooper and maguire?

Answer 7

-Sample
-Experimental design