Maguire Et Al (2000)

Question 1

When did maguire et al study take place?

Answer 1

2000

Question 2

What was maguires study about?

Answer 2

The hippocampus in taxi drivers

Question 3

What was maguires hypothesis?

Answer 3

Increased use of spatial memory will result in structural changes in the hippocampus

Question 4

Why did maguire choose black cab drivers?

Answer 4

Store huge amounts of information about streets and destinations in London
They study for around 34 months
It was a natural experiment

Question 5

How did maguire conduct his study?

Answer 5

16 male taxi drivers (average of 14 years experience)
Control 50 makes
MRI scans

Question 6

What were the results of maguires stidy?

Answer 6

Taxi drivers had an increased volume in posterior hippocampus
Decreased volume in anterior hippocampus
No difference in other brain areas

Question 7

What other conclusion did maguire draw?

Answer 7

Amount of change in the hippocampus correlated with length of career
Neutral plasticity - our brains change dependent on our experiences

Question 8

What is a confounding variable?

Answer 8

A lurking variable that you didn’t account for.
Time spent travelling
Driving experience
Stress

Question 9

What was the second natural experiment that maguire did?

Answer 9

Same experiment on bus drivers who spend all day driving but do not need to navigate like taxi drivers.
The bus drivers didn’t have the same changes to their brains that the taxi drivers had

Question 10

What applications did maguires stidy have?

Answer 10

Opened up research into neuronal plasticity/change
- potential therapeutic applications
Research into navigation strategies