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Maguire 2000 (Sample (16 taxi drivers, 50 non-taxi drivers (control group…
Maguire 2000
Sample
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Taxi drivers and control group matched on age, gender and hand dominance
Medically, neurologically and psychiatrically fine
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Evaluation
Psychology as a science: Used scientific equipment (MRI scanner) but collected qualitative data and had no manipulation over IVs
Usefulness: Showed our brains could change depending on what our job is. Showed importance of brain training
Nurture/situational explanation: Brains change according to environment as taxi drivers had more grey matter within the posterior hippocampus)
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Ethical considerations: Informed consent, confidential and protection of participants
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Validity: Matched participants design, scientific equipment (internal) but only from London/males/only 16 (population)
Reliability: Standardised/replicable, scientific equipment used (internal) but collected qualitative data (low internal)
Sampling bias: Only males (androcentric), right handed only, London only (ethnocentric) but had an age range of 32-62 years
Method
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Correlation of covariables: 'volume of hippocampus' (anterior and posterior separately) and 'length of time as a taxi driver'
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Keywords
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Hippocampus: Part of the brain located in the limbic system in the inner brain that forms long term memories and is linked to spatial memory
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MRI scanner: Magnetic Resonance Imaging that involves being subjected to a strong magnetic field and radio waves, causing the atoms of the brain to give off radio signals which is read by a detector
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Conclusions
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Change in grey matter was due to their need for higher order thinking in the navigational skills region (posterior hippocampus)
Anterior and posterior hippocampus have different functions. Anterior: processing of new environmental layouts. Posteror: stores previously learned spatial information
Left and right hippocampus have different functions (laterlisation). Right: mental maps. Left: complements right hippocampus by storing memories of people and events
Results
Taxi drivers showed no difference in overall volume of the hippocampus, but the posterior had a larger volume and the anterior had a smaller volume
More grey matter was found in the posterior hippocampus and less was found in the anterior hippocampus of taxi drivers
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