Blakemore and Cooper (1970) Development of the brain depends on the

visual environment.
Key Words
Orientation selectivity
Behavioural blindness
Physical blindness
Neuron distribution

Background Blakemore and Cooper were inspired by the process of brain plasticity, which is when the grey matter of
the brain changes both structurally and functionally, in this study they investigate functional brain
plasticity where they grey matter changes functionally in terms of strengthening or weakening of neural
pathways. They were particularly interested in the brains of kittens, as there was evidence that their
brains adapt to the environment that they are in, and their grey matter has a similar structure to that of
humans. Inspired by Hirsch and Spinelli who showed that early visual experiences can change the
orientation of the visual cortex of kittens and testing this using a monocular method, Blakemore and
Cooper wanted to expand on this by doing a binocular study in which the kittens experienced wither a
horizontal or vertical environment with both eyes.

Aim To investigate the development of the primary visual cortex in cats and find out if some of its properties
such as orientation selectivity are innate or learned.
Sample Kittens studied from birth. In the critical period of their lives 0-3 months, where their brains are most
vulnerable to change.

Research Laboratory experiment

Method Independent measures design
IV-Horizontal or Vertical stripes
DV- Measuring visual and physical blindness

Procedure 1. The kittens were kept in a completely dark room from birth.
2. At 2 weeks old, they were placed in a specialist cylinder for approximately 5 hours per day.
3. The cylinder had a glass platform that the kitten stood on and the entire surface had black and
white stripes which were either horizontal or vertical.
4. The kitten wore a black collar which meant that they couldn’t see their own bodies.
5. The experiment was stopped at 5 months.
6. The kittens were taken for several hours each week into a small, well lit room with tables and
chairs, where their visual and physical reactions were recorded.
7. At 7.5 months 2 kittens- 1 reared in a horizontal and 1 reared in a vertical environment, were
anaesthetised so their neurophysiology could be examined.
Results Visual findings – (observed by the experimenters watching the kittens)
1. Behavioural blindness was shown- Kittens are blind to contours opposite to the stripes they had
been reared with.
2. Kittens raised with vertical stripes only followed a rod if it was shaken vertically. Kittens raised
with horizontal stripes only followed the rod if shaken horizontally.
Neuro- physiological findings (From the 2 kittens put to sleep)
1. Physical blindness occurred- kittens raised in the vertical environment had problems with their
horizontal plane recognition cells firing and the kittens raised in the horizontal environment had
problems with their vertical plane recognition cells firing.

Conclusion 1. The findings demonstrate brain plasticity- early visual experiences can modify the brain of cats.
2. The environment can determine perception at both a behavioural and physiological level- at
 least in cats.

Strengths Validity
High internal- Controls (e.g. collar around their neck) to be able to establish cause and effect.
High concurrent- Neurophysiological findings concur with the visual findings.
Reliability
High internal- standardised.
High external- quantitative.
Data- Quantitative and Qualitative- detailed descriptions of behavioural observations.
Ethical- followed guidelines set out by the home office for study on animals.
Nature and Nurture- innate fully formed visual cortex, and the impact of the environment on how the
visual cortex developed.
Useful- enhancement of knowledge on brain plasticity
Psych as a science- Objective measurement of neuronal findings. High controls- cause and effect.

Weakness Sample- Small, only 2 kittens had their neurophysiology tested.

Limited usefulness- Questionable what we can learn from kittens, and applicability to humans.
Ethics- some cats suffered long lasting clumsiness as a result of the experiment.