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SAQ marking: Neuroplasticity

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  • SAQ marking: Neuroplasticity

Below you will find four sample SAQs for the question: Explain one study of neuroplasticity linked to human behaviour.

For each of the samples, refer to the rubric to award marks 1 - 9. After each sample, there is a predicted grade as well as feedback on the strengths and limitations of the sample.

SAQ rubric

SAQ Sample 1

One study of neuroplasticity was done by Maguire. She wanted to see if there was a difference in the brains of taxi drivers who took the test called "the Knowledge" as opposed to regular drivers. Maguire used 16 taxi drivers in her study that were all male and all right-handed. She also had 50 right-handed males that didn’t drive taxis. The sample was obtained through snowball sampling. In order to take part in this study, the taxi drivers and the non-taxi drivers had to have a driver’s license for at least 1.5 years.

After looking at the brains of the taxi drivers, she found that the taxi drivers’ posterior hippocampi were significantly larger than the non-taxi drivers.  This shows that there was neuroplasticity in the taxi drivers as a result of interacting with their environment.

However, this study cannot be generalized because only right-handed people were used.  This does not allow us to make a generalization to the whole world.

160 words

This is a limited response.  There is no clear explanation of neuroplasticity. Although there is a phrase about "a result of interacting with the environment", the response does not demonstrate clear understanding relevant to the concept that is being assessed.  The study contains errors (e.g. how the non-taxi drivers were obtained and that they had had to have their license for at least 1.5 years) or that the hippocampi were "significantly larger." The actual procedure of the study is not outlined in any significant detail and the results are limited. The final paragraph does not add anything to the quality of the response. 3 marks

SAQ Sample 2

Neuroplasticity is a term to define the brain's ability to continuously change and evolve. Neuroplasticity is often a result of a lot of stimuli or a lack of stimuli.  When a part of the brain is used a lot, then the dendrites of the neurons create more branches, leading to an increase in grey matter in the brain. This makes that part of the brain denser.  This happens during learning. In addition, when a part of the brain is damaged, sometimes the neighbouring neurons take over the function of the damaged part of the brain. These are both examples of neuroplasticity. 

In the Maguire study, they looked at a sample of 16 right-handed male taxi drivers as well as another group of right-handed males that were not taxi drivers.  They controlled the sample by making sure that each taxi driver had a license for at least 1.5 years as well as passed the “knowledge” test.  They put the taxi drivers through an MRI in order to look at both the density of their brain as well as the size of various parts; this was done with pixel counting, compared to the brain scans of the control group. Through these two methods, they found that the posterior hippocampus was much denser in the taxi drivers’ brains compared to the control groups.  The posterior hippocampus seems to be linked with spatial recognition.

The brains of the taxi drivers show how neuroplasticity changes the brain greatly based on how one uses it.  When working as a taxi driver, one has to have a lot of spatial awareness and this appears to have an effect on their brains.

274 words

This response has a pretty good understanding of neuroplasticity.  The study is fairly well described, but the results are limited.  The link back to the question could be better developed. 5 marks.

SAQ Sample 3

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change shape and grow grey matter in accordance with its environmental needs as well as practice. The concept is that as the brain develops throughout our lifetime, our brains adapt to the parts of the brain we use the most, which results in the growth of grey matter which means more synapses and more neurotransmission.  According to the theory of localization of function, specific areas of the brain are specialized in certain behaviours. This was seen in Draganski's "juggler study."

The aim of the study was to see whether learning how to juggle would lead to neuroplasticity. The participants were all new to juggling. To start the study, the researchers carried out an MRI on all of the participants. They were then allocated to one of two conditions - learning juggling and not learning juggling. The learners were asked to practice their juggling lesson until they had mastered it.  Then they had a second MRI scan.  The non-juggling group served as a control group for the duration of the study.

Compared to the original scans, Draganski found that the jugglers showed a significantly larger amount of grey matter in the mid-temporal area - an area associated with visual memory. There was no change over the duration of the study in the non-juggling condition.  This shows that learning a new skill leads to changes in the brain - or neuroplasticity.

235 words

The concept of neuroplasticity is fairly well explained. The study is appropriate and fairly well explained; there is a link back to the question. 7 marks.

SAQ Sample 4

A study of neuroplasticity was carried out by Rosenzweig and Bennett. In their classic study, the researchers had a group of rats that they wanted to study.  The aim was to see how the environment may affect the size of their brains. The researchers put the rats in one of three cages.  The first cage was the "party cage" - where there were a lot of toys and other stimulation for the rats.  The second cage was the "poor environment" in which there was no food, water or other rats.  There were also no toys.  The final cage had only two rats but with food, water and one toy. 

After two weeks in the cages, the researchers decided to kill the rats and then measure their brains with an MRI. The researchers found that the rats in the "enriched environment" had a denser frontal lobe and higher levels of acetylcholine. This shows that the rats had experienced neuroplasticity.  Those rats in the impoverished cage did not.  They showed atrophy. This is the same as we see in poor communities.

This study has ethical problems because we cannot know if we can really link animals to humans, so to kill the rats for no reason is undue stress or harm.  It is also not possible to get consent from animals.  This means that the researchers violated ethical considerations - making the research less valid.

231 words

The study is not a study of human behaviour.  Even with the link to humans that is attempted by saying that we see this "in poor communities," there is no behaviour actually identified.  The study has errors - for example, that the animals were denied food and water, that acetylcholine levels were higher or that the reseachers used an MRI.  A weak response.  2 marks.