Maguire (Brain Plasticity)

Question 1

What area is this study part of

Answer 1

Biological area

Question 2

What is a key theme of this study

Answer 2

Brain plasticity

Question 3

Define brain plasticity

Answer 3

Brains ability to reorganise itself in response or environmental stimulus

Question 4

What is the background of the study (2)

Answer 4

Research shows the lesions to hippocampus affect a persons ability to remember the location if different places and things

In some species of animals the hippocampal volume enlarges during seasons of hen spatial ability is greatest

Question 5

What was the research method

Answer 5

Quasi experiment because Iv was naturally occurring ( whether they were taxi drivers or not)

Question 6

What was the independent variable

Answer 6

Whether or not they were London taxi drivers or not

Question 7

What was the dependent variable

Answer 7

The volume of hippocampi including the anterior, body and posterior regions

Question 8

How was the DV measured

Answer 8

Analysing MRI scans of the participants brains using the 2 techniques of VBM and pixel counting

Question 9

What was the design

Answer 9

Independent measures + matched participants

Question 10

What was the sample of taxi drivers
(3)

Answer 10

16 healthy, right handed, male London taxi drivers

Mean age 44 range of 32 to 62

Mean time licenced taxi driver = 14.3 years

Question 11

What was the sample of non taxi drivers
(4)

Answer 11

Control group

50 for VBM analysis
16 for pixel counting

Matched for health, handedness, mean age, age range and sex

Question 12

Describe the procedure of the study

Answer 12

The scans of control group selected from structural mri scan data base at same unit as taxi drivers

VBM analysis - automatic procedure that normalises scans so it eliminates overall brain size as a variable and identifies differences in grey matter / density in different regions of the brain

Pixel counting analysis - compares to the volume of anterior, body and posterior cross sections of taxi drivers hippocampi

Images analysed by one person experienced in the technique - they didn’t know if it was a taxi driver or not

Total hippocampi volume measured

Question 13

What were the results from the VBM

Answer 13

No significant differences in the brains except

Taxi drivers had significantly increased grey matter in right and left posterior hippocampi

Controls had greater grey matter volume in right and left anterior hippocampi

Question 14

What were the results from the pixel counting

Answer 14

No significant difference in overall volume of hippocampi

Taxi drivers had significantly greater posterior hippocampal volume

Controls had greater anterior right hippocampal volume

Greater hippocampal volume in right than left in both taxi drivers and controls

Question 15

What are 3 conclusions from the study

Answer 15

Changes in the arrangement of hippocampal grey matter occur due to nurture

Plasticity in the structure do human brain due to prolonged environmental stimuli

Regionally specific structural differences in the hippocampu of taxi drivers vs non taxi drivers

Question 16

Evaluate research method

Answer 16

Can study things which otherwise would have been hard to do - take advantage of taxi drivers experience

Cant control thing so many extraneous variables ie taxi drives talking to people all day may have affected it etc or how long they’d been doing it for

Question 17

Evaluate reliability

Answer 17

High internal reliability - MRI scan used so standardised technique in controlled conditions - can be replicated

Low external - one person counted the pixels, so not checked between people

Question 18

Evaluate the sample

Answer 18

Matched participants eliminates individual differences

Only men in the sample, women could have responded different (gender bias)

Could have been different for left handed people

Question 19

Evaluate data

Answer 19

Quantitative data - density of grey matter and hippocampal volume

No qualitative data - taxi drivers could have been asked experiences of using spatial memory

Question 20

Evaluate ethics

Answer 20

Could have been distressing

Question 21

Evaluate ethnocentrism

Answer 21

Only British participants - in urban environment

Rural - might have different ways of using spatial memory

Question 22

What was the aim of the study

Answer 22

Whether brain is capable of changing in response to environmental stimulation