Physiological - Maguire Flashcards
What is the aim of this study?
To investigate the differences in the brain of London taxi drivers, and to establish whether difference volumes can be observed
- to pave the way for more investigations into the hippocampus
What is the main focus of this study?
Chafe sin the hippocampus of taxi drivers
What is the research method of this study?
A natural experiment, lab study
What sample technique was used?
Opportunity
Describe the sample
16 all male, right handed taxi drivers aged between 22 and 62. All had been driving for more than 1.5 years
What was the IV of this study
The taxi driver or control group
What was the DV of this study
The amount of grey matter in the hippocampus/hippocampus structure
How was the DV measured?
Measured their brains using a MRI scanner. Also a VBM and pixel counting to measure brain differences
What were the controls in this study?
All right handed make taxi drivers. All scanned using the same scanner and brain sizes taken into account
Describe the control group in this study
50 participants whom had had their MRI scans put into the MRI data base. All were healthy, age matched, right handed makes who weren’t taxi drivers
Describe the procedure
The taxi drivers brains were scanned using the MRI machine, which investigated the structure of the brain. The scans were then analysed and compared with the control group. They were measured through VBM, a 3D image measuring grey matter. And through pixel counting, where 26 slices of the brain are shown in 2D. 24 are the hippocampus, with 6 at the asteroid and posterior and 12 slices for the main body
Describe the results of the study
Overall the VBM found that in taxi drivers there was a decrease in volume in the anterior of the left and right hippocampus, and an increase in the posterior. The pixel counting showed that volume didn’t increase or decrease, but shifted around. The control group had higher levels in the right hippocampus. There was a positive correlation between time as a taxi driver and volume in the posterior of taxi drivers hippocampus’
Outline one conclusion
The human brain had plasticity - it has the ability to change to adapt to the environment
Outline some practical applications of the study
- provides evidence for plasticity of the brain
- implications for brain damaged patients
Discuss the ecological validity of this study
Ecological validity is not possible here, as the study looks at brain structure, and the relation to reality is not needed
