NEUROPLASTICITY

Rosenzweig, Bennet & Diamond (1972)

You can use this study for the following content in the biological approach:

How and why particular research methods are used in the biological approach.

Neuroplasticity

The use of animal models to understand human behavior and physiology (HL).

Ethical considerations in animal research (HL).

Procedure and results

In this classic study, Rosenzweig, Bennet & Diamond wanted to see if changing the level of
stimuli in the environment would result in physical changes in the
brain. Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to change as a result of one's
experience. Before this research was done, scientists believed that the brain changed up
until a critical period in childhood. After that, no changes in the brain were believed possible.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether environmental factors such as a rich or an
impoverished environment would affect the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex.

Three male rats from a common litter were randomly allocated to one of three
environments. In the control condition [CC] there were three rats in the cage. In the
impoverished condition [IC], the researchers placed each rat in individual cages. The
individual cages lacked the toys and the maze which were in the enriched environment. For
the enriched condition [EC], the researchers placed 10 - 12 rats in a cage containing different
stimulus objects to explore and play with. All groups had free and adequate access to food
and water.

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.

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.

It appears that the thickness of the cortex and the overall weight of the brain increased as a
result of the enriched environment. A follow-up to this research indicated that just 30
minutes 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.

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. It is now known that poverty is a major
risk factor in children’s cognitive development as poverty is related to a number of risk
factors such as poor nutrition, lack of access to good education and poor health.

Evaluation

 One variable that was not clear in the enriched environment is whether it was the
environment (the toys) or the social activity. Putting rats alone in large cages with
toys for two hours a day showed no effect. The single rat tended not to play with
the objects and instead rested and groomed himself. The enriched environment
produced cerebral changes in a single rat only if the rat was stimulated to interact
with the objects.

 The experiment was a highly controlled laboratory experiment so it was possible to

establish a cause and effect relationship.

 The experiment used animals, so it may be difficult to generalize to humans unless

research with humans provides the same results.

 In the enriched environment, it could have been exercise that made a difference,
rather than "stimulation." It is still not clear from the enriched environment how
the variables of social interaction, environmental stimulation and exercise may
interact.

 The research results have been replicated many times.

 There is the ethical consideration of undue stress or harm to the animals in the
study. Not only were some rats isolated and put into an impoverished environment,
but they were killed at the end of the study. A cost-benefit analysis should
demonstrate that the goals of the study are worth the harm done to the animals.

Maguire (2000)

Maguire (2000) carried out a study to demonstrate how cognitive processes may lead to
neuroplasticity in the hippocampus. You can use this study for the following learning
objectives:

Discuss techniques for studying the brain and behavior.

Discuss neuroplasticity.

Discuss localization of function.

Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes.

The original study is available here.

Procedure and results

The aim of the study was to see whether the brains of London taxi drivers would be
somehow different as a result of their exceptional knowledge of the city and the many hours
that they spend behind the wheel navigating the streets of London.

The participants for this study were 16 right-handed male London taxi drivers. The taxi
drivers were compared with the MRI scans of 50 right-handed males who did not drive taxis.
In order to take part in the study, the participants had to have completed the "Knowledge"
test and have their license for at least 1.5 years. The controls were taken from an MRI
database. The sample included a range of ages so that age would not be a confounding
variable.

The study is correlational in nature as the IV is not manipulated by the researcher. The
researchers were looking to see if there was a relationship between the number of years of
driving a taxi and the anatomy of one's brain. It was also a single-blind study - that is, the
researcher did not know whether she was looking at the scan of a taxi driver or a control.

The data from the MRI was measured using two different techniques: voxel-based
morphometry (VBM) and pixel counting. Voxel-based morphology (VBM) was used in this
study to measure the density of grey matter in the brain. Pixel counting consists of counting
the pixels in the images provided by the MRI scans in order to calculate the area of the
hippocampus.

There were two key findings of the study. First, pixel counting revealed that the posterior
hippocampi of taxi drivers were significantly larger relative to those of control subjects and
the anterior hippocampi were significantly smaller. VBM showed that the volume of the
right posterior hippocampi correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver. No
differences were observed in other parts of the brain. Maguire argues that this
demonstrates that the hippocampus may change in response to environmental demands.

How does this relate to localization of function? It appears that the posterior hippocampus
is involved when previously learned spatial information is used, whereas the anterior
hippocampal region may be more involved during the encoding of new environmental
layouts.

Evaluation

 The study was a quasi-experiment, so no cause and effect relationship can be

established. The researchers were unable to manipulate the independent variable; it
was naturally occurring.

 A single-blind control was used to avoid researcher bias.

 Some might argue that those with larger hippocampi might be more spatially
talented and thus chose to be taxi drivers; however, this is disproven by the
correlation between the size of the hippocampus and the number of years driving.

 You cannot argue that the MRI has low ecological validity because the participants
were not asked to do anything while in the scanner. They simply had their brain
anatomy measured.

 Although the study appears to have sampling bias, it is a reality that the vast
majority of London cabbies are male. However, it still does make it difficult to
generalize the findings.
  The study is ethically sound as the MRI does not pose any health risks to the
participants and all gave consent.

Draganski (2004)

The following study is a study of neuroplasticity that demonstrates how a repeated action
can lead to the growth of neural networks - and then the cessation of that activity can lead
to neural pruning.

This study may be used for an SAQ/ERQ on neuroplasticity, the ethics/research methods
used in the study of the brain and behaviour, or an SAQ on either the formation of synapses
or neural pruning.

Background information

Biologists used to believe that at a certain age, the brain was done growing and changing.
Research in the 1960s and 70s started to indicate that the brain is a dynamic organ that
continues to grow and decline as a result of interacting both the environment and cognition.
The ability of the brain to change its neural structures in order to adopt to change is
called neuroplasticity.

There are two aspects of neuroplasticity that are important - dendritic branching and
pruning.

One form of neuroplasticity is the strengthening of synapses. This is due to a process

called Long Term Potentiation. LTP argues that the repetition of a task results in
neuroplasticity. LTP also leads to dendritic branching or dendritic arborization which leads
to an increase in neural density.

A lack of potentiation as a result of discontinued behaviour may lead to neural pruning - the
process by which extra neurons and synaptic connections are eliminated.

Procedure and results

The aim of the study was to see whether learning a new skill - in this case, juggling - would
have an effect on the brains of participants.

The participants for this study were 24 volunteers between the ages of 20 and 24. There
were 21 females and 3 males. All participants were non-jugglers at the start of the study.
Each participant had an MRI scan at the start of the study to serve as a base rate for grey
matter and brain structure.

Participants were allocated to one of two conditions - the jugglers and the non-jugglers.
Those that were in the juggling condition were taught a three-ball cascade juggling routine.
They were asked to practice this routine and to notify the researchers when they had
mastered it. At that point the jugglers had a second MRI scan. After the scan, they were
told not to juggle anymore and then a third and final scan was carried out three months
later. The non-juggling group served as a control group for the duration of the study.

To analyse the MRI scans, the researchers used voxel-based morphometry [VBM] to
determine if there was significant differences in neural density (grey matter) in the brains of
jugglers vs. non-jugglers. From the baseline scans - taken before the study began - they
found no significant regional differences in grey matter between the two conditions.
However, at the end of the first part of the study, the jugglers showed a significantly larger
amount of grey matter in the mid-temporal area in both hemispheres - an area associated
with visual memory. Three months after the participants stopped juggling - when many were
no longer able to carry out the routine - the amount of grey matter in these parts of the
brain had decreased.

There was no change over the duration of the study in the non-juggling sample.

Interestingly, it appears that juggling relies more on visual memory - that is, the perception
and spatial anticipation of moving objects - than on “procedural memory” which would
more likely show change in the cerebellum or basal ganglia.

Evaluation

 The study used a pre-test, post-test design to show differences in neural density
over time.
 The study was experimental, thus helping to argue for a cause and effect
relationship.

 There was a control group that didn't juggle that served as a control group.

 The sample size was very small - so it is possible that by using averages of growth,
the data may not be reliable.

 The study has potential problems with internal validity as the participants were in
their home environments for a good part of the study.

 The study would need to be replicated to establish its reliability.