Re: [xmca] The Strange Situation

Nice illustration here of the interface of biology and culture:

*Scientists have uncovered evidence for an inbuilt "sat-nav" system in the
brains of London taxi drivers.*

They used magnetic scanners to explore the brain activity of taxi drivers as
they navigated their way through a virtual simulation of London's streets.

Different brain regions were activated as they considered route options,
spotted familiar landmarks or thought about their customers.

The research was presented at this week's BA Science Festival.

Earlier studies had shown that taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus - a
region of the brain that plays an important role in navigation.

Their brains even "grow on the job" as they build up detailed information
needed to find their way around London's labyrinth of streets - information
famously referred to as "The Knowledge".
"We were keen to go beyond brain structure - and see what activity is going
on inside the brains of taxi drivers while they are doing their job," said
Dr Hugo Spiers from University College London.

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7613621.stm>
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Received on Sun Sep 14 09:24 PDT 2008