CLASSIC STUDY = Blakemore + Cooper, Development of the brain depends on the visual environment. behaviour = functional brain plasticity of the visual cortex
CONTEMPORARY STUDY = Maguire, Navigation related structural change in the hippocampus of taxi drivers . behaviour = structural brain plasticity in the hippocampus
What is brain plasticity
relates to the grey matter which can actually shrink or thicken (structural); neural connections can be forged + refined or weakened + severed (functional)
grey matter contains the cell bodies, dendrites and axons of neurone (brain cells) + therefore contains the synapses
Similarities
high IV = high levels of control
low ecological validity = lab
high internal reliability = standardise
quantitative data
Differences
B+C = lab, M = quasi
B+C = cats, M = humans (population validity)
B+C = quantitative + qualitative, M = quantitative
Similarity Q
P = high levels of control so high IV
D = truly measuring what set out to measure
E = B+C (functional brain plasticity of the visual cortex) cats wore collar, control for other visual stimuli e.g seeing own body which could've impacted development of visual cortex, kittens only exposed vertical or horizontal black + white stripes
E = SIMILARLY, M (structural brain plasticity of hippocampus), MRI scans of taxi drivers + non-taxi drivers hippocampus was analysed by expertanalyst who wasn't M + blind to condition scan was from, control researcher effects + reduce bias
Difference Q
P = data differences
D = quan - in numerical or statistical form, qual - descriptive
E = B+C (behv) kittens taken to well lit, furnished lab where behaviours of behavioural blindness were recorded (finding) = qual. kittens anaesthetised + neurology examined for physical blindness (finding) = quan
E = WHEREAS, M (behv), MRI scans of hippocampus of taxi + non-taxianalysed by VBM + pixel counting to measure vol of hippocampus (finding) = quan
