Acquiring “the Knowledge” of London's Layout Drives Structural Brain Changes
نویسندگان
چکیده
The last decade has seen a burgeoning of reports associating brain structure with specific skills and traits (e.g., [1-8]). Although these cross-sectional studies are informative, cause and effect are impossible to establish without longitudinal investigation of the same individuals before and after an intervention. Several longitudinal studies have been conducted (e.g., [9-18]); some involved children or young adults, potentially conflating brain development with learning, most were restricted to the motor domain, and all concerned relatively short timescales (weeks or months). Here, by contrast, we utilized a unique opportunity to study average-IQ adults operating in the real world as they learned, over four years, the complex layout of London's streets while training to become licensed taxi drivers. In those who qualified, acquisition of an internal spatial representation of London was associated with a selective increase in gray matter (GM) volume in their posterior hippocampi and concomitant changes to their memory profile. No structural brain changes were observed in trainees who failed to qualify or control participants. We conclude that specific, enduring, structural brain changes in adult humans can be induced by biologically relevant behaviors engaging higher cognitive functions such as spatial memory, with significance for the "nature versus nurture" debate.
منابع مشابه
Report of London’s Layout Drives Structural Brain Changes
The last decade has seen a burgeoning of reports associating brain structure with specific skills and traits (e.g., [1–8]). Although these cross-sectional studies are informative, cause and effect are impossible to establish without longitudinal investigation of the same individuals before and after an intervention. Several longitudinal studies have been conducted (e.g., [9–18]); some involved ...
متن کاملBrain Structural Changes Caused by Autism Spectrum Disorder Based on Volumetric Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Images: A Review Study
Background and purpose: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a psychiatric disorder which occurs in early years of life and causes various individual and social problems. Early detection of autism would help in taking necessary precautions and preventing its adverse side effects. Methods & Materials: In this paper, we reviewed the articles that have investigated brain structural changes caused by...
متن کاملBrain Structural Covariance Network in Asperger Syndrome Differs From Those in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Healthy Controls
Introduction: Autism is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder associated with social, cognitive and behavioral impairments. These impairments are often reported along with alteration of the brain structure such as abnormal changes in the grey matter (GM) density. However, it is not yet clear whether these changes could be used to differentiate various subtypes of autism spectrum disorder ...
متن کاملExploring anterograde associative memory in London taxi drivers.
London taxi drivers are renowned for their navigation ability, spending a number of years acquiring 'The Knowledge' of London's complex layout and having to pass stringent examinations to obtain an operating licence. In several studies, this navigation skill has been associated with increased posterior but also decreased anterior hippocampal grey matter volume. Neuropsychologically, gain and lo...
متن کاملNon-spatial expertise and hippocampal gray matter volume in humans.
Previous work suggests that spatial expertise in licensed London taxi drivers is associated with differences in hippocampal gray matter volume relative to IQ-matched control subjects. Here we examined whether non-spatial expertise is associated with similar hippocampal gray matter effects. We compared medical doctors who, like taxi drivers, acquire a vast amount of knowledge over many years, wi...
متن کامل