AO3 - Plasticity

• • Maguire et al (2000) studied the brains of London taxi drivers using an MRI and found significantly more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than in the matched control group.
  • This part of the brain is associated with the development of spatial and navigational skills in humans and other animals. 


  Plasticity research
• • Maguire et al (2000)
  • As part of their training, London cabbies must take a complex test called ‘the knowledge’ which assesses their recall of the city streets and possible routes.
  • It is also noteworthy that the longer they had been doing the job the more pronounced was the structural difference (a positive correlation)


  Plasticity research.
• Plasticity from animal studies

  • Found that placed in complex environments had an increased number of new neurons than rats housed in simple laboratory cages.
  • The brain of rats in the complex environments had adapted and formed new neurons in the hippocampus.
  • Positive - supports the idea that brain can change or adapt as a result of experience.


  Kempermann et al (1998)
• Practical applications for brain trauma victims:

  • Led to developments in ’neurorehabilitation’
  • Positive - although the brain may have capacity to fix itself to a point, process requires further intervention to be completely successful.


  AO3 - Plasticity research
• Shown recovery from brain trauma is far more complex:

  • Elbert et al (2001) showed that adults require farmore intensive training than children to produce neural changes in response to trauma.
  • Schneider et al (2014) found that patients with a college education were seven times more likely to be disability-free than those who did not finish high school.
  • Suggests a number of factors contribute to brain plasticity and recovery that makes it complex to study.

  AO3 - Plasticity research
• Plasticity can sometimes have negative consequences:

  • Found that 60-80% of amputees have been known to develop phantom limb syndrome.
  • Sensations are usualy painful and unpleasant.
  • ’negative plasticity’ is a problem as it shows the brains ability to adapt to changes does not always have positive effects.


  Ramachandran and Hirstein (1998)