Maguire et al (2000) Flashcards
What is some background to this study?
-The hippocampus is the region of the brain that is involved in spatial memory
-Maguire reports that in some species’ of animal, the volume of it enlarges during seasons when demand for spatial ability is greatest
-This suggests the hippocampus has plasticity
What was the aim of this study?
To find out whether the hippocampus might also show plasticity among humans
What is the sample for this study?
-16 right handed male London taxi drivers
-32 to 62 years old
-Chosen as London taxi drivers are supposed to know all roads and routes in London -> high demand on spatial memory
-All had been drivers for at least 1 1/2 years and had healthy general medical profiles
What was the procedure of the quasi-experimental part of the study
-The taxi drivers all had MRI scans that were compared to those of a control group of 50
-All were right handed males aged 32-62
-The scans of the taxi drivers and control group were analysed in two ways:
-Pixel counting
-Voxel-Based Morphometry 3D
measurement of volume
-In both cases it was the volume of grey matter measured
What were the findings of the quasi-experimental part of the study?
