to study the

brain in relation
to behaviour
Localisation

Neuroplasticity
 Syllabus
✘ Techniques used to study the brain in relation to
behaviour
✘ The choice of techniques used to correlate the brain with
behaviour is based on a variety of factors including
opportunity, available technology and costs. An
awareness of these limitations as well as the strengths of
these different techniques is important when evaluating
the contribution they have made to understanding
behaviour
✘ Areas of the human brain related to behaviour
✘ An awareness of where the regions of the brain referred
to in the research are helps to contextualize learning.
✘ Methods used to study the brain
✘ fMRI, MRI, EEG, CAT, PET are the most frequent
techniques used to investigate the relationship between
the brain and behaviour in current research, but
observations from autopsy, stroke and accident victims
have all contributed to understanding of the brain and
behaviour. One or more examples of a technological
technique used to understand the brain and behaviour
can be used.
✘ Localization
✘ Students should understand the concept of localization
and how the function of different parts of the brain is
determined as well as the limitations of this model.
✘ Neuroplasticity
✘ The development of neural networks through repetition
and neural pruning is both genetic and subject to
environmental influences. Neural networks can change
developmentally, over time or after injury. This is termed
neuroplasticity.
General Outline
 Techniques used to study the brain in
relation to behaviour
✘ used for identifying brain damage after accidents or strokes

Brain autopsy (observation of the structures of a dead brain)

✘ used on people who had behavioural and cognitive problem which cannot be
observed while alive
✘ although with the advance of modern brain imaging, Alzheimer’s disease
cannot be completely diagnosed until a brain autopsy
✘ e.g. Case study of Henry Molaison
✗ donated his brain to MIT
✗ his preserved brain was frozen and sliced into 2401 fine sections
✗ scanned: permanent neurological research resource
Strengths
✘ it can be as thorough and as detailed as the researcher wishes, will not damage a
living person
✘ useful for confirming diagnosis post-mortem can be generalised to people
suffering the same symptoms and look into possible treatments
Limitations
✘ requires medical expertise and qualifications
✘ limited supply as little ppl will donate their brain
✘ lack of control as less healthy brain being donated
✘ only inference can be drawn as they are damaging brain cells when they
conducting autopsy  cannot be sure that the damage the observe is identical to
what would be observed in a live brain
✘ can only study brain structure but not processes
 Brain Surgery
✘ especially in cases of brain tumours and the exact boundaries of the growth
cannot be determined by brain imaging scans
✘ in serious epilepsy, ppl often experience severe social and psychiatric
problems accept surgery to search for cure
Strengths
✘ for intractable epilepsy, brain lesioning/ hemispherectomy: decreases the
no. of seizures and improves ppl’s QOL
✘ in combination with brain imaging techniques, give information about the
physical limits of tumours allows removal
Limitations
✘ highly invasive procedure, so a cost benefit analysis will be needed as there
is a chance of worsening the condition
✘ learning from it is not generalisable as it is individually targeted
 computerised tomography (CT)

✘ scanning method that uses 2D x-ray images of a slice of the brain

✗ can construct 3D detailed pictures of the brain
✗ see tissues within an organ
✗ patients will need to drink a barium meal containing a
contrast dye if they are scanning a stomach/ oesophagus
✗ useful for identifying bleeding in the brain, swollen blood
vessels/ brain tumours, skull fractures
✗ can be safely used by patients with metal implants
Strengths
✘ can produce images regarding blood vessels, soft tissues and bones
simultaneously  detailed data at a quick time (around 5 mins)
✘ faster and cheaper than MRI scans and widely available
✘ do not use magnetism, can be used by ppl with heart pacemakers
and implants
Limitations
✘ may increase cancer risk due to radiation, often involves injection of
intravenous agents--> trigger unwanted side effects, adverse long-
term effects and potential allergic reaction
✘ although cheaper than MRI, it is still not very cheap e.g. from
US$500-2000 for a head scan
 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
✘ uses magnets and radio waves to produce a picture of the structure of the
brain by measuring the hydrogen nuclei in the body
✘ image can be manipulated to focus on any areas
✘ use of a magnetic field combined with pulses of radio wave energy to take
pictures
✘ placed within a tube-like machine and asked to keep still
✘ show tumours, bleeding in the brain, nerve injury, damaged caused by a
stroke looking at grey matter (neurons without myelin sheath)
✘ uses new form of MRI  Diffuser Tensor Imaging (DTI): identifies changes in
the white matter as they measure water diffusion throughout the myelin
sheathed axons
Strengths
✘ produce detailed 3D images
✘ a imaging method that can be used frequently for diagnosis or therapy as
they do not use x-rays or other radiations
Limitations
✘ often very noisy and requires ppl to stay still for a long time e.g. ppl with
claustrophobia and patients with certain disease may find it very difficult
to stay still as it may take 30min-1hr
✘ magnetism: ppl with inserted metals in their body cannot be used e.g. iron
✘ more expensive than CT, not widely available: cost associated with
training health personnel to interpret the scans
 Techniques investigating brain processes
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
✘ used to measure an devaluate electrical activity in the brain
✘ works through electrodes being attached to the person’s scalp
✘ analyse the electrical activity and send the results to the computer
✘ activity graph of peaks and valleys that record the level of brain activity
✘ investigate a person for epilepsy -_> measure brain activity after an injury
Strengths
✘ one of the cheapest ways to identify brain processes
✘ ability to see brain activities in real time at the level of ms, and movement
does not affect the scan
Limitations
✘ difficult to tell where activity is coming from e.g. when it s happening in
two brains at the same time
 Positron emission tomography (PET)

✘ use radiotracer of radioactive material that is attached to

either glucose or oxygen to allow them to be traced in the
brain
✘ the more energy a group of cells needs, the more the
radiotracer collects in a certain location
✘ cancer cells are very active in using glucose, so a radiotracer
attached to glucose will show up a cancerous brain tumour
✘ can also identify Alzheimer’s disease as they take up glucose
more slowly
Strengths
✘ produce images of brain activity that are not affect by small movements:
study body function through biochemical functions
✘ able to detect disease before changes in the anatomy become apparent 
more effective in diagnosing than other imaging tests
✘ can be used in conjunction with MRI or CT to examine the biochemical
changes: important for cancer detection as they are able to distinguish
between benign disorders or malignant disorders
Limitations
✘ do not produce clear images when compared to fMRI
✘ radioactive tracer is slightly invasive
✘ can be expensive
✘ risk for radiation exposure raises the risk of cancer
 Functional Magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI)
✘ measures oxygenated blood flow in the brain
✘ oxygenated blood has a different resonance than blood
that has already delivered its oxygen to the cells, more
active areas of the brain receive more oxygenated blood
✘ computer turns the images into a 3D colouring moving
image of brain activity
✘ brain activity is mapped in squares called voxels
✘ each voxel represents thousands of neurons
Strengths
✘ can produce 130,000 voxels in a 3D images: very
detailed data about the relationship between brain
activity and cognitive processes
✘ can undergo EEG with fMRI: EEG recording the activity in
the cerebral cortex, fMRI scans deeper structures
Limitations
✘ expensive, its use is limited in some cases
✘ slower than EEG
 Brain Structure
✘ nervous system: system of neurons, cells that perform the function of
communication
✘ central nervous system (CNS): the spinal cord & brain
✘ major parts: cortex, cerebellum, limbo system, brain stem
✘ cortex: the layer of neurons with a folded surface covering the brain on the
outside
✗ higher-order functions e.g. abstract thought/ voluntary action
✘ localisation: theory that certain areas of the brain are responsible for certain
psychological functions
✗ relates directly to the assumption of the biological approach that
cognitions, emotions and behaviours are products of the anatomy and
physiology of our nervous system and endocrine system
✘ strict localisation: clear correspondence between psychological functions
and brain areas, all functions can be clearly mapped onto the brain
✘ weak localisation: one brain area may be responsible for a function, but not
exclusively, other areas may also take over the function
Localisation
2 main hemispheres
✘ left: logic, problem solving, maths (calculation), analytical, language
(speech) , controls RHS of the body and senses
✘ right: creativity, emotion, visuospatial tasks (drawing, face
recognition), synthetic/ holistic thought controls LHS of body/ senses
✘ neurone connecting the two hemispheres: corpus callous

The sensory and motor cortex:

✘ contralateral localisation
✘ inside down organisation (lower body areas= top of the cortex)
✘ proportional representation: the greater the sensitivity/ motor
control the body area requires, the greater the proportion of cortex
that represents it
Cortex 4 main lobes:
Frontal lobe
✘ reasoning, planning, thinking, decision-making, initiative, complex emotions, voluntary motor
control
✘ micro-electrode stimulation of the primary motor cortex produces twitches of movement
✘ damage causes lack of insight, loss of primitive reflex suppression, behavioural inertia (lack of
spontaneity and initiative), an inability to adjust behaviour
✘ Brocas’s Area: involved in the production of language
✘ primary motor cortex: movement of body parts
✘ Central sulcus: fissure dividing frontal and parental cortex
Parietal lobe
✘ associated with sensing, movement, orientation, perception, recognition, monitor of body parts
✘ micro-electrode stimulation to the primary sensory cortex produces sensations
✘ contains sensory association: object recognition (damage x cause blindness but visual agnosia —
inability to recognise the identity of whole objects by sight)
✘ integrate different sensory areas to enable cross-modal matching (paring up the sight and sound)
✘ primary sensory cortex: involved in sensation of body areas
Occipital lobe
✘ contains the visual cortex and primary visual areas, visual processing
✘ micro-electrode stimulation of the primary visual cortex produces flickering patterns of light
& colour
✘ damage to primary visual cortex: produce blind spots (scotomas) in the visual field of the
opposite side
✘ damage to the right parietal cortex: no vital conscious awareness of the left side of an
object
✗ visual neglect e.g. eat only the right half of food on their plate
✘ primary visual area: involved in the analysis of visual stimuli
Temporal lobe
✘ hearing, language, memory
✘ micro electrode stimulation: produces ‘dream-like memories’
✘ damages: produces specific deficit in language
✘ damage to the Wernicke’s area: receptive aphasia (disruption to the comprehension of
language)
✘ damage to the angular gyrus: disrupts reading comprehension

✘ lobes are associated to certain function— mild form of localisation

✘ not necessarily the only brain structure that influences the function
Cerebellum
✘ little brain
✘ looks like the cortex: two hemispheres & a folded surface
✘ associated with coordination & balance
Limbic system
✘ evolutionarily older subcortical structure
✘ emotional brain
✘ thalamus: sensory functions, nerves reach it as a final hub before connected to the cortex
✘ hypothalamus: below the thalamus, functions: emotion, thirst, hunger
✘ amygdala: memory, emotion, fear
✘ hippocampus: learning, memory, transferring short-term memory to permanent store, spatial
orientation
Brain stem
✘ beneath the limbic system
✘ regulate the basic vital processes e.g. breathing/ heartbeat
✘ connects the brain to the spinal cord
 Research supporting Localisation
Case study of Phineas Gage
✘ a foreman on the construction of the railway in Vermont, using a tamping
iron to compact explosive powder into the rock ready for a blast
✘ the rod was propelled through Gage’s skull, entering through his left
cheekbone and through the top of his head
✘ Harlow observed and studied Gage, but his personality had changed a lot
and was described him as ‘no longer Gage’
✘ used very profound language and became very impatient and could make
plans of the future but never tried to work the way through them
✘ the damage to Gage’s frontal cortex caused by the iron rod seems to cause
the loss of social and inhibitions
✘ the frontal cortex has a critical role of personality and behaviour
Discovery of speech centre— Paul Broca (1861)-- Case Study of Tan
✘ Louis Leborgne lost the ability to speak when he was 30, admitted for surgery by
Broca
✘ inability to speak / write— only malfunction: intelligence was intact, understood
everything he was asked, tried to communicate back, only said tan
Broca’s aphasia: the loss of articulated speech
✘ autopsy: revealed a lesion in the frontal area of left hemisphere (posterior inferior
frontal gyrus)—Broca’s area

Wernicke’s area— Carl Wernicke (1874)

✘ located in the temporal lobe of the dominant hemisphere (mostly left)
✘ responsible for the comprehension of written and spoken language
✘ Wernicke’s aphasia: general impairment of language comprehension, speech
production is intact
✗ speak fluently, but what it is said is meaningless
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
Patient HM (1957)
RELEVANT TOPICS:
Localisation
AIMS OF THE RESEARCH:
To find out which part of the brain associates with memories e.g. the role of hippocampus and to study HM’s memory deficits
PROCEDURES:
Case study— in depth and detailed study of one unusual individual.
A wide range of methods can be used eg interviews, brain scans and cognitive tests
Useful where experimental studies would be unethical or impractical
The different techniques provide a range of varied measures
HM was largely cognitively intact apart from his amnesia
HM (Henry Molaison), a man who had had experimental surgery in an attempt to cure his intractable epilepsy.
The case was first reported on by Milner (1957) then followed up over the next 50 years and included a variety of methods such as cognitive tests,
scans and interviews
The various methods used in the case study of HM are the following:
• cognitive test: in order to see whether the motor skill is affected by the removal of the hippocampus
• recognition test: To see whether the long-termed memory, which were previously acquired stored in the temporal lobe.
• MRI scan performed by Corkin et al. and the slicing of the brain: create stained histological slides
• researchers can map the brain and connect individual anatomical structures with specific functions
• Milner showed Henry a five-pointed star, with a double contour
• asked him to trace its outline with a pencil, but he could only see his hand and the star as reflected in a mirror
• Henry was asked to recognise faces of persons who had become famous in different decades from 1920-1970
• After Henry died, he was immediately put to do an MRI scan
• his brain was transported to the the Brain Observatory in University of California
• sliced the brain into 2401 pieces (70 micrometre thick)
• each slice was photographed and the images were posted online
RESULTS/FINDINGS:
• Henry improved every time he did it again even though he had no memory that he had done the task before
• started with 30 errors and 20 on his second attempt and 10 by his seventh
• Day 3: he was making fewer than 5 mistakes each time
• impaired at recognising faces from the postmorbid period (1950s and 1960s)
• able to recognise faces who were in the news before the surgery and even performed better than age-matched controls
• In 1962 Milner published the results of a series of trials that she had conducted with Henry, which revealed one of her most notable discoveries. She had asked HM to draw a line
between two outlines of a five-pointed star while watching his hand and the page in a mirror. HM steadily improved at each attempt.
• scans showed that the lesioning was 3cm less than Scoville had estimated
• did not extend as far into the posterior hippocampal region as he thought, even though there were damages of the amygdala
• showed that approximately 50% of the posterior hippocampus on each side remained and had shrunk on the right side
• Corkin et al. believed that it might due to the removal of the rest of the hippocampus and the drugs
EXPLORATION (EVALUATE RESEARCH):
Conclusions
• findings indicated that the hippocampus & surrounding areas play a critical role in converting STM into LTM and with the forming, organisation & retrieval of memory
• findings supported a fundamental distinction between STM & LTM
• showed that the hippocampus is only responsible for some memory processes& different types of memory (between declarative & procedural (non-declarative) memory was made
• HM: most studied individual in the history of neuroscience—> enormous contribution to the understanding of where memory processing is located in the brain & contributed to theory
in the area

Criticisms
Ethics: There is an ethical issue of whether HM was able to give informed consent, as it is questionable as to whether he was ‘of sound mind’ with such severe
amnesia. However, HM did give consent, was willing to help scientific progress, and appeared to enjoy the interaction. His personality and general intellectual
ability remained relatively unimpaired, so his consent could be respected.
At the start of the study he gave consent himself, later a legal guardian was appointed, and there is a question about this.
The researchers stood to gain from the research (academic reputation etc). The later findings from the scans weakened the initial claims for the exclusive role of
the hippocampus as the main cause of the amnesia because damage was found to be more widespread, and there is a question over whether the researchers
publicised this sufficiently. Patient’s name was kept confidential until he died.

• Ecological validity: High, study of a real life case

• Different studies done over time (interviews, observations, etc) can be easily compared and evaluated as they come from the same person (triangulated)
• Low potential ability to generalise because cases are individual, but there are other cases of hippocampal damage & amnesia—> contributed to theory & understanding of memory &
the brain
• MRI scans can be inaccurate due to slight movements, extent of damage not always known even with highly detailed scans, some data from the scans can be over-analysed (small
aberration thought to be overly important
• Case studies may be influenced by researcher interpretation (researcher bias, self-fulfilling prophecy, confirmation bias)
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
Broca (The case of Tan) (1861)
RELEVANT TOPICS:
Localisation
AIMS OF THE RESEARCH:
Whether it supported the localisation of function in the brain
PROCEDURES:
• Louis Leborgne lost the ability to speak when he was 30, another Lelong
• developed ganderne, admitted for surgery by Broca
• tan was the only syllable he could pronounce
• repeated it twice & accompanied with hand gestures
• inability to speak / write— only malfunction: intelligence was intact, understood everything he was asked, tried to communicate back
• can only say tan
- autopsy was done
RESULTS/FINDINGS:

• Broca's findings were an important basis for future studies concerning localisation.
• Pioneering first widely published research about localisation of brain functions.
• Offers a good idea of localisation in the brain, however was later proven to be somewhat simplistic and limited. For example, later research has shown
that damage to Broca's area results only in a temporary loss of speech.
• Also, the area considered by Broca to be crucial to motor speech is not exactly the same area that's called "Broca's area" today- Both patient’s lesions
extended significantly into medial regions of the brain in fMRI
, inconsistencies between the area originally identified by Broca
EXPLORATION (EVALUATE RESEARCH):
• Broca concluded that parts of the left frontal lobe, including the area damaged in Tan, had the role of the “language centre” in our brain. Many
subsequent studies have confirmed the role of Broca's area in the production of speech.
• Broca did most of his research through observation, beginning with the autopsy of one of his patients who had lost the ability to speak. Closer
examination of this patient's brain showed lesions and "a chronic and progressive softening" centred around the third frontal convolution (or "convex fold
on the surface of the brain") of the left hemisphere. Broca studied this patient prior to and after his death with the intention of researching a link
between this patient's dysfunctionality and a possible physical cause in the brain.
• strengths of Broca's research method: consistency of his observations of the symptoms with physical damage in the brain. Broca was able to observe the
brains of several patients with similar disabilities, and find damage to a particular area of the brain each time.
• weaknesses of Broca's research method: findings are not necessarily replicable (case study with "Tan"): there may be other factors within the individual
affecting behaviour.
 Research opposing the idea of strict
localisation
✘ Neuroplasticity: the ability of the brain to change through the making and
breaking of synaptic connections between neurons; causing factors both
genetic and environmental
✘ the change occurs through the making and breaking of synaptic
connections between neurons
✘ neural networks in the brain change their shape
✗ due to genetic (normal pre-programmed development of the brain)
& environmental (injury, brain damage/ simply learning new skills)
✘ can be observed on different scales
✗ smallest scale: level of a single neuron, takes the form of synaptic
plasticity— ability of the neuron to form new synaptic connections,
break up the old ones
✗ largest scale: takes the form of cortical remapping
✘ synaptic plasticity depends on the activity of neuron
✘ 2 nearby neurons are frequently activated at the same time, a synaptic
connection between them may gradually form
✘ 2 neurons are rarely activated together, the existing connection may gradually fall
apart
✘ neurons that fire together, wire together, neurons that fire out of sync, fail to link
(Doidge, 2007)
✘ high levels of stimulation & numerous learning opportunities lead to an increase
in the density of neural connections
✘ dendritic branching: the dendrites of the neurons grow in no and connect with
other neurons
✘ Neurogenesis: continuous generation of new neurons in certain brain
✘ New synapses: new skills and experiences create new neural connections
✘ Strengthened synapses: repetition and practice strengthens neural connections
✘ Weakened synapses: connections in the brain the aren’t used become weak
Equipotentiality
✘ the ability of one part of the cortex to take over the functions of another
part of the cortex
✘ memory is widely distributed across the cortex
✘ learning to run through a maze is in itself a highly complex behaviour
that involves motor & sensory functions, x enough for the study of
localisation
✘ neuroscience supports relative localisation: under some conditions
Hemispherectomy e.g Cameron Mott: had either of the hemisphere of the brain
removed
✘ showed excellent recovery as her left hemisphere took over the functions of
the right hemisphere
✘ suggest that brain plasticity happens as the brain is flexible and can change
the location of the functions in the brain and forming new synapses
Synaptic pruning
✘ eliminates weaker synaptic contacts while stronger connections are kept &
strengthened
✘ experience/ learning determines which connections will be strengthened
✘ more space to form new connections and synapses
✘ plasticity that enables the brain to adapt itself to its environment
Connectome: the complex interconnected network of neurons
✘ mapping the connections between neural pathways that underlie brain
functions & behaviour
✘ facilitate research into brain disorders e.g. autism, Alzheimer’s disease
✘ regions of the brain x have to be structurally connected to have functional
connectivity
✘ neural networks that generate thoughts, feelings, behaviours
✘ many people with serious brain illnesses have some abnormally in the
connections of the brain
✘ compare the brain scans of patients with neurodegenerative disease with
those of healthy patients to understand how neurological diseases affect
the brain
✘ explore how a person’s brain connectivity relates to his/ her mental abilities
e.g. memory, self-control
 Techniques used to study the the brain:
experiments with non-human animals
✘ The true experiment: looks for a difference between conditions where all extraneous
variables are kept the same (controlled)

✘ Rosenzweig & Bennett (1972)

✘ rats were put in two conditions: impoverished/ enriched environments
✘ enriched: rats were placed in cages with 11 other rats, stimulus objects for the rats to
play with (maze training)
✘ deprived: rat was alone with no stimulation
✘ they were killed in order to measure the effect of the environment on their brain strain
structures
✘ more dendrites, axons —> more synapses —> more grey matter
✘ stimulating environment had an increased thickness in the cortex as a result of
increased dendritic branching compared to the rats in the deprived env.
✘ frontal lobe was heavier in the stimulating env.
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
Rosenzweig & Bennett (1972) (supporting)
RELEVANT TOPICS:
Brain Plasticity
AIMS OF THE RESEARCH:
To see if changing the level of stimuli in the environment would result in physical changes in the brain
PROCEDURES:
• Rats were placed in either an enriched environment (EC) or an impoverished condition (IC).
• For the enriched condition, the researchers placed 10 - 12 rats in a cage containing different stimulus objects to explore and play with. This group also received maze training.
• In the impoverished condition, the researchers placed each rat in individual cages. The individual cages lacked the toys and the maze which were in the enriched environment.
• The rats typically spent 30 to 60 days in their respective environments before they were killed in order for the researchers to study changes in the brain's anatomy.
• In some variations of the study there was also a standard condition (SC) where rats were kept in a typical standard laboratory cage and provided with food and water.
RESULTS/FINDINGS:
• The anatomy of the brain was different in the EC and the IC.
• There was an increased thickness and higher weight of the cortex in EC rats compared to that of IC rats.
• The researchers also noted that rats in the EC condition had developed significantly greater activity in the neurons in the cerebral cortex associated with transmission of acetylcholine,
which is an important neurotransmitter for learning and memory.
EXPLORATION (EVALUATE RESEARCH):
• the thickness of the cortex and the overall weight of the brain increased as a result of the enriched environment
• follow-up experiment: just two hours a day in an enriched environment produced the same changes in the brain in rats as had been observed in the original experiment where rats were
exposed to the EC condition for a much longer period of time, to determine whether other factors than the environment could cause the cerebral changes observed in the experiment
• conducted control experiments to check if factors such as handling or stress could have caused the changes, but the researchers found that these factors could not have caused the
results
• Since brain plasticity is assumed to follow the same pattern in both animals and humans, the implications of the study are that the human brain should also be affected by environmental
factors such as intellectual and social stimulation
• challenged the belief that brain weight cannot change
• experiment was a rigorously controlled laboratory experiment so it was possible to establish a cause-effect relationship
• used animal models, so it may be difficult to generalise to humans unless research with humans provides the same result
• The research results have been replicated many times, so it is now a well-established fact that an enriched environment provides a much better background for brain development than a
poor environment.
• There are ethical issues in the use of animals in research like this
• The rats in the IC were perhaps suffering from boredom but they were not harmed
• The rats were killed after the test period in order to study changes in the brain
• Since the results contributed to a much better understanding of the role of environmental factors in brain plasticity it could be argued that the research was justified in spite of the ethical
issues.
Could the changes be due to increased handling, rather than enriched environment? In response to this possible criticism, further experiments were carried out, wherein the
impoverished rats were handled as much as the other two groups, and the differences were still found. Also, sometimes, the rats in the enriched environments were not handled, but still
they retained the increased brain growth.
Can the results be generalised to humans? It has been found that learning itself is enhanced by enriched environmental experiences and that even the brains of adult animals raised in
impoverished conditions can improve when placed in an enriched environment (see Bennett, 1976).

Some evidence exists to indicate that experience does indeed alter brain development in humans. Through careful autopsies of humans who have died naturally, it appears that as a person
develops a greater number of skills and abilities, the brain actually becomes more complex and heavier. Other findings come from examinations during autopsies of the brains of people who
were unable to have certain experiences. For example, in a blind person's brain, the portion of the cortex used for vision is significantly less developed, less convoluted, and thinner than in
the brain of a person with normal sight.

Marian Diamond, one of the authors of the original article, has applied the results of work in this area to the process of human intellectual development throughout life. She says, "For
people's lives, I think we can take a more optimistic view of the aging brain .... The main factor is stimulation. The nerve cells are designed for stimulation. And I think curiosity is a key
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
Merzenich et al (1984)
RELEVANT TOPICS:
Neuroplasticity
AIMS OF THE RESEARCH:
Try to remap the sensory cortex
PROCEDURES:
• studied the cortical representation of the hand in eight adult owl monkeys
• sensory inputs from all the hand digits were mapped in the cortex
• electrodes were inserted in the cortical area: responsible for sensation from the hand
• researcher stimulated various areas on all the fingers one by one, noted which electrode was responding to the stimulation
• monkeys were anaesthetised before
• The cortical representations of the hand in area 3b in adult owl monkeys were defined with use of micro-electrode mapping techniques 2–8 months after surgical
amputation of digit 3, or of both digits 2 and 3.
• Digital nerves were tied to prevent their regeneration within the amputation stump.
• Successive maps were derived in several monkeys to determine the nature of changes in map organisation in the same individuals over time.
• 62 days later, remapping was done to see how the cortical area responsible for sensitivity from the hand changed after amputation
RESULTS/FINDINGS:
• results: (first mapping)— 5 distinct areas in the brain, each responsible for one finger, adjacent fingers were represented in adjacent areas in the cortex
• second mapping: the adjacent areas (responsible for digits 2 & 4) spread & occupied parts of the now unused area
• areas responsible for digits 2 & 4 became larger while the areas responsible for digits 1 & 5 stayed the same
• cortical remapping of sensory inputs from the hand occurs within 62 days in owl monkeys
• the discontinuities between the representations of the digits underwent significant translocations (usually by hundreds of microns) after amputation, and sharp new discontinuous
boundaries formed where usually separated, expanded digital representations (e.g., of digits 1 and 4) approached each other in the reorganizing map, implying that these map
discontinuities are normally dynamically maintained.
• Changes in receptive field sizes with expansion of representations of surrounding skin surfaces into the deprived cortical zone had a spatial distribution and time course similar to
changes in sensory acuity on the stumps of human amputees. This suggests that experience‐dependent map changes result in changes in sensory capabilities
• The major topographic changes were limited to a cortical zone 500–700 μm on either side of the initial boundaries of the representation of the amputated digits. More distant regions did
not appear to reorganize (i.e., were not occupied by inputs from surrounding skin surfaces) even many months after amputation.
• The representations of some skin surfaces moved in entirety to locations within the former territories of representation of amputated digits in every monkey studied. In man, no
mislocation errors or perceptual distortions result from stimulation of surfaces surrounding a digital amputation. This constitutes further evidence that any given skin surface can be
represented by many alternative functional maps at different times of life in these cortical fields
EXPLORATION (EVALUATE RESEARCH):
• demonstrate that basic features of somatosensory cortical maps (receptive field sizes, cortical sites of representation of given skin surfaces, representational
discontinuities, and probably submodality column boundaries) are dynamically maintained.
• They suggest that cortical skin surface maps are alterable by experience in adults, and that experience‐dependent map changes reflect and possibly account for
concomitant changes in tactual abilities.
• Finally, these results bear implications for mechanisms underlying these cortical map dynamics.
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
Draganski et al (2004) (supporting)
RELEVANT TOPICS:
Plasticity
AIMS OF THE RESEARCH:
Find out whether the human brain can really change structure in response to environmental demands
PROCEDURES:
• random sampling design, self-selected sample— randomly allocated a sample of volunteering into jugglers and non-jugglers
• both groups and no experience of juggling —> brain scan
• participants in the juggler group subsequently spent 3 months learning a classic juggling routine with 3 balls —> brain scan
• participants spent another 3 months where they were instructed not to practise juggling —> brain scan
• control group: lived daily lives, their brains scanned 3 times on the same schedule as the jugglers
RESULTS/FINDINGS:
• comparison of brain scans in the 2 groups (start): no differences
• second: the juggler group had significantly more grey matter in some areas of the cortex, most notably the mid-temporal
area in both hemispheres
• areas: implicated in coordination of movement
• third: differences decreased, amount of grey matter in these areas in jugglers was still greater than at the time of the first
scan
EXPLORATION (EVALUATE RESEARCH):
• correlation between juggling performance & the amount of change: brain changes in participants who trained better were
more pronounced
• learn a simple juggling routine, certain areas grow—> fail to practise, shrink back significantly
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION:
Maguire et al (2000)
RELEVANT TOPICS:
Plasticity, Localisation, Triangulation,
AIMS OF THE RESEARCH:
• hippocampus plays a role in spatial memory & navigation
• whether the healthy human brain can undergo plastic changes in response to extensive navigational experience
• hypothesis; to find out if human beings with more navigation experience would show an increase in hippocampus volume, the structure of the hippocampus would be different because prior
animal studies had shown the hippocampus to be involved in spatial abilities
PROCEDURES:
• investigated the brains of London taxi drivers based on a quasi experiment
• cause and effect inferences cannot be made
• The specific sample population chosen was London taxi drivers who have to endure rigorous learning and testing of over 25,000 locations, streets, and landmarks in
the city, providing a rather ideal sample of humans who need to rely heavily on navigation. Usually takes 3-4 years to learn.
• Asked taxi driver companies to ask drivers if they would take part in the experiment and nearly 100 taxi drivers responded. This makes the study self-selected.
• Applicants narrowed to 16, by eliminating
• Those at risk for health or mental illness
• Those too old or too young (age)
• A range of experience, but with a minimum of 1 year experience
• Only males – to eliminate any major differences found in the sizes of male or female
brain structures
• Only right handed – again, to eliminate pre-existing differences in brain structures
which might skew results.
• IV: amount of navigational experience
• licensed London taxi drivers with a minimum of 18 months job experience (in addition to an average of about 2 years acquiring ‘The Knowledge’
• non-taxi drivers (control group)
• DV: volume of the hippocampi (anterior, body, posterior)
• correlation: the amount of time spent as a taxi driver and their hippocampal volume
• they undergo an intensive training programme on how to navigate in the city, pass a set of stringent examinations to be licensed
• 16 right-handed male licensed taxi drivers, average pre-licensing training time was 2 years, average experience as a taxi driver was 14.3 years (1.5-42), healthy medical profiles
• brain scans of control subjects: from the database of brain scans at the same unit
• scans obtained by MRI
• make the comparison groups as equivalent (potential confounding variables), exclusion criteria were applied to the control objects— subjects below 32 and over 62 years old,
female, left-handed, with health issues
• 50 right handed male, did not drive a taxi
Structural MRI: scans of taxi drivers & non-taxi drivers
VBM: (voxel-based morphometry) automatic procedure that ‘normalised’ the scans to a template (to eliminate overall size of brain as a variable), compared the taxi-drivers’ brains with a control
group of 50 non-taxi drivers
Pixel counting: experienced observer (blinded to the subjects’ identity & results of the VBM) compared the volume of anterior, body, posterior cross-sections of the taxi drivers’ hippocampi with
control group
RESULTS/FINDINGS:
VBM analysis
• no significant differences elsewhere in the brain between the group
• taxi drivers increased grey matter volume in the right & left posterior hippocampus compared to controls

Pixel counting
• no significant difference in the overall volume of the hippocampi, difference in positions
• an increased brain matter volume of taxi drivers as compared to control subjects in the posterior hippocampus
• a decrease in size was found in the anterior hippocampus
• control subjects had greater volumes of grey matter in the anterior hippocampus
EXPLORATION (EVALUATE RESEARCH):
• seems plausible to suggest that driving a taxi in London leads to redistribution of grey matter
• people with larger grey matter volumes in the posterior hippocampus, naturally predisposed to choose professions that depend on navigational skill
• correlation between hippocampal volume and amount of time spent as a taxi driver
• grey matter in the posterior hippocampus correlated positively with experience as a taxi driver (r=0.6, p<0.05)
• reverse relationship with grey matter volume in the anterior hippocampus (r=-0.6, p<0.05)
• show brain structure like the hippocampus are not fixed in humans, but rather plastic and may change as a result of environmental input
• indicated that neurogenesis is possible
• grey matter volumes change as taxi drivers’ experience increases, these differences are indeed the result of neuroplasticity
• the more people use their spatial memory, the larger the hippocampus appears to become in the posterior region
• however the decrease in size of the anterior part of the hippocampus was unexpected
• hippocampus appears to be very sensitive to space & navigations — localisation
• posterior: previously learnt spatial information
• anterior: learning new spatial information
• human spatial representations & navigational experience are stored in the posterior hippocampus
Evaluation
• healthy human brain can change in structure in response to environmental stimulation— implications for rehabilitation after brain damage (only for hippocampus)
• methods of measurement were objective & well controlled (computer, blind)
• many controls were used: participants in the sample were narrowed to small group to eliminate potential confounding variable, but sample size small
• correlational information: limited—> not cause and effect
• VBM increased accuracy & use of triangulation with modern data and physical measurements by researcher increased confidence levels
• follow-up studies showed that the experienced taxi drivers did worse on subsequent test of spatial memory compared to normal control group
• the taxi-drivers seemed to fill up their navigation abilities with information about
London streets and seemed to have no left over capacity to learn new spatial situations.
Could this particular arrangement of hippocampal grey matter predispose individuals to professional dependence on navigational skills? This notion was
tested directly, by examining a correlation between hippocampi volume and the amount of time spent as a taxi driver. Right posterior hippocampal volume positively
correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver and therefore suggests that changes in hippocampal volume are acquired.
As such, the finding indicates the possibility of local plasticity in the structure of the healthy adult human brain, as a function of increased exposure to an environmental
stimulus. The results suggest that a mental map of London is sored in the posterior hippocampus and is accommodated by an increase in tissue volume.
 homework
✘ Explain the use of technology in one study that has
investigate the brain and behaviour (9) (on localisation)
✘ Describe neuroplasticity, using one relevant piece of
research to support your answer (9)