Maguire

Question 1

What is spatial memory?

Answer 1

memory of how to navigate around places you know

Question 2

What is cognitive mapping?

Answer 2

A mental map of places you know, you use your spacial memory to navigate this.

Question 3

What is the knowledge?

Answer 3

a test London taxi need to pass. They must know bout 37,000 pieces of information.

Question 4

What is the hippocampus?

Answer 4

Has a major role in memory and spatial navigation. We have one in each hemisphere.

Question 5

What is plasticity?

Answer 5

the brains natural ability to change as a result of a experience. It builds new neural and synapse pathways.

Question 6

what was the aim of Maguire’s study?

Answer 6

To investigate the differences between the hippocampi of London taxi drivers and non-taxi drivers.

Question 7

Describe the non taxi driver participants

Answer 7

control group
50 non-taxi drivers
16 were used to compare (matched pairs)
Male and right handed

Question 8

describe the taxi drivers participants

Answer 8

16 right handed 
male taxi drivers 
32 to 62 year olds 
mean age of 44 years
all had healthy medical profiles
All had to have a licence for 1 and a half years (up to 42 years)

Question 9

what did all participant have?

Answer 9

MRI scans
pixel counting
Voxel based morphology

Question 10

What is an MRI scan?

Answer 10

Strong magnetic field and radio waves create pictures of tissues organs and other structures inside your body.

Question 11

What is pixel counting?

Answer 11

counting the pixels in the MRI scan images.

Question 12

What is a pixel?

Answer 12

a 2D measurement of an area.

Question 13

How many slices of the brain were made?

Answer 13

26 slices

Question 14

How many were of the hippocampus?

Answer 14

24 slices

Question 15

What were the remaining 2 slices of?

Answer 15

The whole brain

Question 16

How is the study reliable?

Answer 16

Had a blind experimenter

All participants had an MRI scan , which is standardized

Question 17

What is voxel based morphology?

Answer 17

Measures volume of areas of the brain
Measures density of grey matter in the brain
Provides 3D measurements

Question 18

What were the experiment IVs?

Answer 18

taxi drivers and non-taxi drivers

Question 19

What correlation was conducted?

Answer 19

A correlation was conducted to investigate if there was a relationship between time spent as a taxi driver and the volume of the hippocampi

Question 20

What were the correlation IVs?

Answer 20

time spent as a taxi driver

Volume of the hippocampus

Question 21

What was the dependant variable?

Answer 21

pixel counting and VBM

Question 22

What was the research method?

Answer 22

Quasi-naturally already taxi-drivers

Question 23

what was the research design?

Answer 23

Matched pairs on age

Question 24

what are four findings?

Answer 24

1. Increased volume found in posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers compared to non taxi drivers.
2. more grey matter found in posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers
3. No difference in overall volume of hippocampi.
4. positive correlation was found only in right posterior hippocampi

Question 25

What is grey matter?

Answer 25

Lies on the surface of the brain. Dense in neural cell bodies and associated with higher order thinking.

Question 26

What is white matter?

Answer 26

neural connections in the brain

Question 27

How is Maguire’s study valid?

Answer 27

Participants cannot lie about the amount of grey matter they have.
High in ecological validity as taxi driving is a real career

Question 28

What are 3 conclusions that can be drawn from this study?

Answer 28

That the structure of the brain changes in response to environmental demand.
That the mental map of the city of London is stored in the posterior hippocampi in taxi drivers
That normal activity can induce changes in the structure of the brain and that this has many implications for rehabilitation after brain injury