(not that that doesn't leave scope for experience-dependent effects - I just wouldn't necessarily expect to see them manifest on macro scale)
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This finding has become lore. And is held up as evidence that the brain is extremely plastic in adults and strongly responsive to experience, at the level of size of brain regions (i.e., what is easily assayed in MRI scans)
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Seems worthwhile to ask: is the finding itself robust and replicated? If yes, does it mean what it is taken to mean?
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So, is hippocampus really bigger in people who navigate for a living? And which bit? Apparently findings are not so consistent. Are there really only pseudo-replications? Is publication bias a potential problem?
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If the finding is robust and generalisable: does it imply response to experience? Or could it be a selection effect?
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Does navigation skill generally correlate with size of hippocampus? Could increased size reflect greater use, but not greater skill?
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If it really is a plastic response to experience, is this something peculiar to the hippocampus, or a general effect that would be seen in other parts of the brain? (Note the diff b/w increasing size vs increasing representation, e.g., in cortex)
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Also, what is the underlying mechanism? More cells? Bigger cells? Which types of cell? Neurons, glia? More connections? Which ones? Is more better?
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And do such changes reflect long-term use or short-term (as some other studies suggest)? If short-term, are they only temporary? Could they shift back? Do brain areas just get 'swole' with heavy use?
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Replying to @WiringTheBrain
Or maybe, only people who already have this ability want to become cabbies
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Or pass "the knowledge"... Don't forget that obviously not everybody passes.
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would eating cabbage help?
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