National Geographic: The Incredible Human Body Page #5

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of their brains -

called the hippocampus - might be

the key to their success.

Frackowiac:
The hippocampus is a part

of the brain deep in the brain.

It's on the insides of what

we call the temporal lobes,

which are the parts of the brain

immediately to either

side of the temple,

just behind the bone there.

It's two structures,

one on each side,

critical for laying down

new memories.

Instructor:
Now, run me

to the nearest police station.

Student:
Leave by Waterloo Bridge,

forward Lancaster Place...

Narrator:
If memory

depends upon the hippocampus,

at the knowledge point school,

drivers-in-training

surely give this part of

their brains a good workout.

Student:
...Lower Roberts Street...

Student 2:
...right, um,

York Way...

...left Shaftsbury Avenue

left Great Windmill Street...

...right into

[?] And set down on the left.

Derek:
Dave, give me the name of

a restaurant on Portland Road

With a lady's name.

Dave:
Chutney Mary's

Derek:
Hereford Road -

Where would you give me?

Student:
veronica's.

Derek:
Denise,

South Hampton Road

contains a restaurant

with a lady's name.

Would that

be Denise's restaurant?

Derek:
If I then said to you

Zaffarono's restaurant?

Zaffaren restaurant?

Zukor, Zoe... I now want zinc.

It's very important,

with all these points,

that you keep them in your mind

and see them in your eyes, okay?

That's it. Thank you for

attending and keep these sheets.

Anything we didn't note,

please go out and look for it.

Thank you very much.

Narrator:
After class,

students like Andy Miller

take to the streets.

Since visual processing

occupies more brain activity

than all the other

senses combined,

it is not surprising

that direct experience

is an essential part

of the knowledge training.

You start off

learning all the roads.

Then you have to learn

all the places on every road.

With all the routes that you

have to do for the knowledge,

you couldn't possibly

do it on a map.

You have to get out

on your bike,

in the rain, the cold, the snow.

You learn it bit by bit.

The brain is gradually gathering

more and more

and more information.

As long as you keep remembering

and revising streets,

they will stay in your brain.

Narrator:
But how does the brain retain

and order all that information?

As the scientists suspected,

mastering the knowledge

may have a physical impact

on the brain itself.

Their study concluded

that part of the hippocampus

was, indeed, larger-than-average

in these drivers.

In fact,

the most dramatic differences

were seen in the drivers

who were on the job the longest.

Smith:
The hippocampus

has a spatial map in it.

And what seems to be happening

in the taxi drivers

is that the spatial map

is laid out of central London,

and laying this down caused

the connections to develop

and grow,

and more of them to form,

and that makes part

of the hippocampus get bigger.

Kelly:
It's almost like

you've somehow, somewhere

up in your brain,

you've created enough space

to sort of slip this map in,

a little bit of software.

Osborne:
You've got

to see it in your head...

On a map in your head.

You've built up a big picture

of London as a map in your mind,

and you can see the lines

and the wiggles of the streets,

so that you can see

exactly where everything is.

Narrator:
This study suggests something

we presumed not possible -

That the adult brain can

re-fashion it's basic anatomy

according to the requirements

of it's owner.

Smith:
I think

it's a very important study

Because it's shown

for the first time - in man -

that the hippocampus

can reorganize itself.

But what does it mean?

It means that the hippocampus

is changeable.

We say in science it's plastic,

like a little plasticine, you know.

It actually can change shape.

Lee:
I definitely feel as if

I've got a larger hippocampus

than most people.

In fact, it's been said.

I've had people

get in the cab and say,

"I've noticed you've got"

"a larger hippocampus

than most others."

It's quite interesting really

because we just set out

to do the knowledge,

to learn it for our job.

And now we're being told

that we've exercised

part of our brain

which is enlarged now

and... you know,

it's going to be

a bonus isn't it?

Narrator:
If human existence

can be described

as the sum of our memories,

the implications of the study

are dramatic and far-reaching.

Once we wouldn'thave dared to dream

our brains might possess

this kind of adaptability.

Now we dream.

Can these insights be used

to help restore

the minds of stroke victims,

Alzheimer's patients, and

those suffering brain traumas?

Mikkaela:
I do know that

he's going to have surgery

And I know he's

going to stay in the hospital

for a couple of days.

And I know that

he might have to learn

how to read and write again,

a little bit.

So I might have

to read him some books

and teach him

how to write again.

And I know that

he's kinda scared about this,

And my mom is too.

Narrator:
It's been a sleepless

night for Scott Toenies,

so being awake for surgery

at 6 am is not a problem.

Lisa:
Right now I just...

I'm to the point now

where I want to

get it over with

just 'cause I know

what he's going through.

We know and we were told

that he will be banged up

for a little while.

But how long

is that going to take?

And how much is it going to be?

That's the scary part.

I was calm

until I saw him walk away.

I tried to follow

as far as I could,

and I knew I couldn't

go any farther

when he got into the pre-op.

It's like I said "goodbye,"

because I didn't know

what he would be like

coming out.

Scott:
I'm very scared. There's

a reason you have a skull.

It's to protect your brain.

And then all of a sudden

they're going to crack that open

and go into your brain and

take something out of there.

You know, the thought that

someone that I've only met once

is gonna... I'm trustingmy head to be dug around in

by this person...

it's a scary thought.

Narrator:
Scott must remain absolutely

still for the surgery,

which could last as long

as six hours...

So his head

is bolted into place.

The dots from

the previous day's scan

allow surgeons to align

the images of his brain

with his actual brain.

Scott is briefly put to sleep

while his skull

is being opened for surgery.

The doctors will soon wake him

for the rest of the operation.

Meyer:
First thing

we're gonna do, I think,

is we'll go ahead

and stimulate...

confirm the pre-central gyrus

as a start.

Narrator:
Guided by

the extraordinary 3-D images

to see where his eyes cannot,

Dr. Meyer is able to close in

on the borders of the tumor.

Meyer:

We come to the tumor...

Looks like we're

just on the outside of it...

And anteriorly,

there's the border,

just as you would predict.

So the tumor

goes from here...

from here, all the way

up to about here.

And, of course,

it's going down deep, too.

All right, we're gonna start

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