Article Synopsis
- Structural MRIs showed that London taxi drivers had larger posterior hippocampi compared to non-taxi drivers, indicating a correlation between brain structure and navigation experience.
- The anterior hippocampus was found to be larger in control subjects than in taxi drivers, suggesting different functional roles in navigation.
- The study supports the idea that the brain can adapt structurally in response to environmental demands, particularly in individuals with extensive navigational skills.
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Article Abstract
Structural MRIs of the brains of humans with extensive navigation experience, licensed London taxi drivers, were analyzed and compared with those of control subjects who did not drive taxis. The posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers were significantly larger relative to those of control subjects. A more anterior hippocampal region was larger in control subjects than in taxi drivers. Hippocampal volume correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver (positively in the posterior and negatively in the anterior hippocampus). These data are in accordance with the idea that the posterior hippocampus stores a spatial representation of the environment and can expand regionally to accommodate elaboration of this representation in people with a high dependence on navigational skills. It seems that there is a capacity for local plastic change in the structure of the healthy adult human brain in response to environmental demands.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC18253 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.070039597 | DOI Listing |
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