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Cited by 918Spatial Cognition and NavigationMemory and Neural MechanismsCognitive Abilities and Testing

London taxi drivers and bus drivers: A structural MRI and neuropsychological analysis

Maguire, Eleanor A., Woollett, Katherine, Spiers, Hugo J.·2006·Hippocampus
DOI 10.1002/hipo.20233
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Abstract

Licensed London taxi drivers show that humans have a remarkable capacity to acquire and use knowledge of a large complex city to navigate within it. Gray matter volume differences in the hippocampus relative to controls have been reported to accompany this expertise. While these gray matter differences could result from using and updating spatial representations, they might instead be influenced by factors such as self‐motion, driving experience, and stress. We examined the contribution of these factors by comparing London taxi drivers with London bus drivers, who were matched for driving experience and levels of stress, but differed in that they follow a constrained set of routes. We found that compared with bus drivers, taxi drivers had greater gray matter volume in mid‐posterior hippocampi and less volume in anterior hippocampi. Furthermore, years of navigation experience correlated with hippocampal gray matter volume only in taxi drivers, with right posterior gray matter volume increasing and anterior volume decreasing with more navigation experience. This suggests that spatial knowledge, and not stress, driving, or self‐motion, is associated with the pattern of hippocampal gray matter volume in taxi drivers. We then tested for functional differences between the groups and found that the ability to acquire new visuo‐spatial information was worse in taxi drivers than in bus drivers. We speculate that a complex spatial representation, which facilitates expert navigation and is associated with greater posterior hippocampal gray matter volume, might come at a cost to new spatial memories and gray matter volume in the anterior hippocampus. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Crossref · 10.1002/hipo.20233

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  • Individuals selected into particular environments show neuronal changes as a function of the specific cognitive-processing requirements of those environments.

    “Contemporary neuroscience research suggests that individuals selected into particular environments show neuronal changes as a function of the specific cognitive-processing requirements of those environments (e.g., Maguire, Woollett, & Spiers, 2006).”

    From Enrichment Effects on Adult Cognitive Development: Can the Functional Capacity of Older Adults Be Preserved and Enhanced? (2008) · cites this paper as Maguire, Woollett, & Spiers, 2006

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Authors
Maguire, E. A., Woollett, K., & Spiers, H. J.
Affiliations
UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology (GB)
Corresponding author
Maguire, Eleanor A.
ORCID
Venue
Hippocampus
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2006-10-05
Volume
16
Issue
12
Pages
1091-1101
ISSN
  • 1050-9631 (ISSN-L)
  • 1098-1063
DOI
10.1002/hipo.20233
OpenAlex
W2119513713
Cited by
918
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 99 · 2019: 79 · 2018: 66 · 2017: 73 · 2016: 45 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 41 · 2013: 46 · 2012: 37
FWCI
40.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Hippocampus (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Wellcome Trust (071173)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
Keywords
bus drivers, visuospatial memory, posterior hippocampus, anterior hippocampus, spatial representation, driving stress, self-motion
MeSH terms
Adult, Automobile Driving, Brain Mapping, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mental Processes, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychomotor Performance, Self Concept, Private Sector, Public Sector

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