Geography and World Regions: G.1: Principles of Geography (Sources 1–14)

London’s taxi drivers navigate the smoggy snarl with ease, instantaneously calculating the swiftest route between any two points. (Source 5)

London’s taxi drivers navigate the smoggy snarl with ease, instantaneously calculating the swiftest route between any two points. (Source 5)

London’s taxi drivers navigate the smoggy snarl with ease, instantaneously calculating the swiftest route between any two points. (Source 5)

These navigational demands stimulate brain development, concludes a study five years in the making. (Source 5)

With the new research, scientists can definitively say that London taxi drivers not only have larger-than-average memory centers in their brains, but also that their intensive training is responsible for the growth. (Source 5)

With the new research, scientists can definitively say that London taxi drivers not only have larger-than-average memory centers in their brains, but also that their intensive training is responsible for the growth. (Source 5)

Excelling at one form of memory, however, may inhibit another. (Source 5)

Neuroscientist Eleanor Maguire of University College London (U.C.L.) first got the idea to study London cab drivers from research on memory champions of the animal world. (Source 5)

Maguire wondered whether London taxi drivers also had larger-than-average hippocampi [portion of the brain associated with long-term memory and spatial navigation]. (Source 5)

To earn their licenses, cab drivers in training spend three to four years driving around the city on mopeds, memorizing a labyrinth of 25,000 streets within a 10-kilometer radius of Charing Cross train station, as well as thousands of tourist attractions and hot spots. (Source 5)

To earn their licenses, cab drivers in training spend three to four years driving around the city on mopeds, memorizing a labyrinth of 25,000 streets within a 10-kilometer radius of Charing Cross train station, as well as thousands of tourist attractions and hot spots. (Source 5)

“The Knowledge,” as it is called, is unique to London taxi licensing and involves a series of grueling exams that only about 50 percent of hopefuls pass. (Source 5)

In her earliest studies, Maguire discovered that London taxi drivers had more gray matter in their posterior hippocampi than people who were similar in age, education and intelligence, but who did not drive taxis. (Source 5)

It seemed that the longer someone had been driving a taxi, the larger his hippocampus, as though the brain expanded to accommodate the cognitive demands of navigating London’s streets. (Source 5)

It seemed that the longer someone had been driving a taxi, the larger his hippocampus, as though the brain expanded to accommodate the cognitive demands of navigating London’s streets. (Source 5)