PRE-STARTER Q.How might we investigate the ‘functionality’ of different parts of the brain?

You should have the ‘Maguire Background’ slides open on your iPad or printed off.

Think of your favourite place in Surbiton/Kingston/Richmond (wherever…)

• You have a friend over from another country…• He/she needs to get to this place on their own• Briefly write or draw directions for them from a starting

point of your choice. E.g. home• Make sure you include landmarks that you’ll pass• You have 7 minutes to draw or write your directions then we

will have feedback from the class

How easy/difficult was it for you to remember road names/landmarks/the

route?

Did you use any particular strategies?

This is not a test – I won’t be judging your navigation

skills!!!

Learning objectives:

• To know the background to Maguire et al.’s study• To be able to identify the area of the brain involved in

spatial memory• To be able to describe how this area has been

investigated (by Maguire et al)• To be able to explain the findings and what they mean

Types of memory:• Procedural

• Episodic

• Semantic

Think of one example for each that relates to you.

METHODS OF INVESTIGATING THE BRAIN

There are several effective technological means of measuring and seeing things that are happening in the brain

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)-More advanced and detailed than an x-rayUses a strong magnetic field and radio pulses

EEG (electroencephalograph)- More old fashioned than MRITracks electrical impulses under the surface of the skull

EEG

MRI Scanner

Patient HM

• HM was a severely epileptic patient who, as a drastic solution, had surgery which removed the front 2/3rds of his hippocampus.

• After the surgery HM had no memories of the previous 2

years although his memories of the 25 years before that were largely intact. He was unable to acquire new memories and could only hold on to information for a few minutes

• What might this suggest about the function of the hippocampus?

The hippocampus• Key part of the brain for memory

• Humans have 2 hippocampi one on each side of the brain.

• Involved in the conversion of information from short-term memory long-term memory

• If the hippocampus is damaged, we may get anterograde amnesia

• This means that we can remember past memories, but we can’t store new ones

• Clive Wearing

Hippocampus= seahorse in Greek

BRAIN FACTS!There have been examples in the animal world of the brain changing in response to need:

1. Animals that have a large territory have larger hippocampi.

2. Small mammals and birds who engage in lots of food storage have a larger hippocampal volume.

3. Racing pigeons renowned for their skill at flying home long distances from unknown locations have larger hippocampi than other breeds of pigeon.

How might these examples relate to taxi drivers? What are the similarities?

Brain Plasticity:• This is how ‘flexible’ our brains are.• Our brains may change shape or structure to accommodate new

information, or in the case of brain damage to avoid loss of function

• Eriksson et al (1998) – some parts of the brain e.g. the hippocampus demonstrate a process called ‘neurogenesis’ – they continue to generate new cells throughout the lifespan (there are only a few parts of the brain that actually do this)

• Jacobs et al (1993) showed the effect that a college education may have on dendrites: those who had carried on after Secondary school had more dendrites.

• Diamond et al. (1964) did research on young rats.• Stimulating environment resulted in increased nerve size and a

greater number of dendrites. Why would more dendrites help?

Watch this video about London cab drivers who take the knowledge

Pay attention to:

-Why did they choose taxi drivers?

-Is it easy/hard to obtain the knowledge?

-What part of the brain is involved in this?

- What does this part of the brain specialise in?

- How did they learn The Knowledge?

- What did the scientists find?Maguire Taxi Drivers

Black Cab drivers are required to have a detailed knowledge of the 25,000 streets within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross as well as a more general knowledge of the major routes

throughout the rest of London

They are given a written test on the first 80 routes and then interviewed on the other 240

Homework• Research and fill in the APRC sheet for Maguire’s study.

• Extension: Start to think about evaluation by going through the APRC and annotating/flagging issues.