Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain STUDIES

Question 1

Kuhn 2014 video games

Answer 1

Participants who played super Mario for 30min a day over 2 months had significantly more grey matter in their cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum. This implies that it is possible to develop brains through training, practice and exercise.

Question 2

Davidson 2004 meditation

Answer 2

When compared to students who did not meditate often, Tibetan monks showed a greater increase in gamma wave activity when meditating,
This suggests that practice and exercise of meditation develops the brain.

Question 3

Kempermann 1998 rats

Answer 3

Rats raised in basic cages had fewer connections and neurons compared to rats raised in enriched environments containing varied stimuli. This implies that enriched environments create new connections and neurons in the brain for information processing.

Question 4

Maguire 2000 taxi drivers

Answer 4

London drivers had much larger posterior hippocampi than non-drivers. More experience = larger hippocampi. Posterior hippocampus is responsible for long term memory and spatial navigation.