Plasticity

Question 1

What is plasticity?

Answer 1

the brains tendency to change/adapt because of experience and new learning

Question 2

What happens as we gain new experiences

Answer 2

nerve pathways used frequently develop stronger connections
neurones that are rarely used die.

Question 3

What is synaptic pruning?

Answer 3

we constantly develop new connections and prune(delete) away weak ones

Question 4

What is an advantage is synaptic pruning?

Answer 4

enables lifelong plasticity

Question 5

What was the aim of Maguires study?

Answer 5

to investigate whether change in the brain could be detected because of extensive experience of spatial navigation

Question 6

What was the method of Maguire’s study?

Answer 6

• 16 male London taxi drivers and 50 non taxi drivers

Used MRI to calculate amount of grey matter in brains of taxi drivers and the control

Question 7

What were the findings of Maguire’s study?

Answer 7

The posterior hippocampus of taxi drivers was larger than control
The volume of the hippocampus was +vely correlated with amount of time spent as a taxi driver?

• this is the part of the brain associated with navigational skills

Question 8

What was the conclusion of Maguires study?

Answer 8

the brain changes physically because of experience

Question 9

What is a strength of Maguires study

Answer 9

MRI is highly empirical

Question 10

Evaluate empirical as strength of Maguires study?

Answer 10

• highly empirical
• brain scans provide objective evidence to show that cab drivers have a significantly greater volume of grey matter than the control
• strength as it provides verifiable evidence for brain plasticity. suggests conclusions drawn are valid

Question 11

What are limitations of Maguires study?

Answer 11

• low population validity
• correlational

Question 12

Evaluate low population validity as a limitation of Maguires study?

Answer 12

• used a small sample of 16 taxi drivers
• not representative of the population which they were drawn from
• So Maguires conclusion that the brain changes physically as a result of experience may not be valid. However there’s no evidence to suggest that a lack of population validity is an issue in this case. Sample only consisted of males so findings arent applicable to females

Question 13

Evaluate correlational evidence as a limitation of Maguires study?

Answer 13

• His evidence is only correlational
• So its not proven that taxi drivers brains have changed as a direct result of their experience
• however the correlation between their occupation and enhanced grey matter was clear which suggests despite only being correlational his evidence is still valid

Question 14

What is a strength of Plasicity

Answer 14

Supporting evidence

Question 15

Evaluate supporting evidence as a strength of Plasticity

Answer 15

• theres evidence to support the claim that plasticity doesnt decline with age
• Ladina Bezzola et al demonstrated how 40 hours of golf training produced changes in neural representations of movement in ppts aged 40-60. Using MRIs they observed increased motor cortex activity in the golfers compared to a control group suggesting more efficient neural representations after changing
• this demonstrates that neural plasticity can continue throughout the life span

Question 16

What is a limitation of plasticity

Answer 16

• negative behavioural consequences

Question 17

Evaluate negative plasticity as a limitation of plasticity

Answer 17

• plasticity may have negative behavioural consequences
• 60-80% of amputees have been know to develop phantom limb syndrome. This is the continued experienced sensations in the missing limb as if it was still there. These sensations are usually painful and unpleasant
• this suggests the brains ability to adapt to damage is not always beneficial