A significant example of cultural neuroplasticity involves the famous “taxi driver” study by Maguire et al. (2000). They used structural MRI to compare the brains of experienced London taxi drivers to controls who did not drive taxis. Taxi drivers had larger posterior hippocampi, but smaller anterior hippocampi, compared to controls. Posterior and anterior hippocampal volume was positively and negatively correlated, respectively, with time spent as a licensed taxi driver. These findings support the hypotheses that a) the posterior hippocampus is involved in spatial/navigational memory and b) environmental stimuli can essentially “reshape” the brain.

Pomona College

Cultural neuroscience is an emerging field of research that joins social and biological sciences to explore the influences of culture on brain development. While cultural psychology historically has relied on observational studies and survey methods, neuroscience measures such as ERPs and fMRI enable researchers to study the underlying neural mechanisms responsible for observed behavioral differences across cultures.

Cultural Neuroscience

The hippocampus is a subcortical structure that receives input from the perirhinal cortex, has been identified as a vital locus of memory formation for associations, transitive learning, spatial mapping, and other complex representations. It also appears to be central to our ability to reconstruct the past through recall, as opposed to our ability to experience the simple familiarity of items in our current environment, for which the perirhinal cortex is sufficient. Patients with circumscribed hippocampal damage may be specifically impaired in tests of recall, while their recognition memory of single items is found to be relatively preserved.  

Hippocampus (SDT)

Plasticity is how the brain is able to learn and adapt to environments. It exists throughout a person's lifetime, though it tends to be more active in early development when the brain is still forming. Plasticity is one of the key concepts within behavioral neuroscience that affects nearly all systems of the brain and brain functions.

Plasticity

Maguire, E. A., Gadian, D. G., Johnsrude, I. S., Good, C. D., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S. J., & Frith, C. D. (2000). Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(8), 4398–4403. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.070039597

Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers (2000)

One example of culture’s influence on brain function involves the use of the abacus in East Asian cultures. Giyoo Hatano, a Japanese developmental psychologist, hypothesized that abacus users relied on a mental representation of an abacus to solve arithmetic problems. In an fMRI study, Japanese participants, all of whom were familiar with the abacus, demonstrated increased activation in the parietal lobe. The magnitude of activation was positively correlated with the difficulty of the arithmetic problem. By contrast, individuals with no abacus experience tend to engage brain regions associated with linguistic processing when tasked with arithmetic problems (i.e. Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area). These findings support Hatano’s theory and illustrate the influence of culture on neuroplasticity.

Cultural neuroscience and arithmetic processing

Cultural neuroscience and spatial navigation

Research in the emerging field of cultural neuroscience suggests that culture influences one's sensitivity and reactivity to his or her emotions. A majority of such research has focused on comparisons between Europe and North America ("West") and China and Japan ("East"). Broadly speaking, European American cultures value emotional expression, whereas East Asian cultures value emotional control. EEG studies across the two cultures found that both Asians and European Americans showed a strong LPP amplitude after viewing unpleasant pictures. When tasked with suppressing negative emotions, however, Asians showed significant reduction in LPP amplitude, while the same effect was much less pronounced in European Americans. These studies highlight the role of culture in emotional processing. Future directions might look into cultures beyond the traditional binary of "Western" and "Eastern" cultures.

Cultural neuroscience and emotional regulation

Cultural Neuroscience Library

Processes like up-regulation and down-regulation (see "Agonist" and "Antagonist") are evidence of the plasticity of receptors in the brain (i.e., the fact that each subtype of neurotransmitter receptor can vary in number and distribution in the brain). Receptor plasticity occurs during development and throughout adulthood. Therefore, a neuron's sensitivity to different transmitters can vary throughout the lifespan. 

Receptor Plasticity

Plasticity of the sensory cortex refers to a characteristic of the cortex, that the cortical maps can change with experience. This was demonstrated in an experiment by Merzenich and Jenkins (1993), where they surgically removed the middle finger of the monkey, then found later that the region of cortex that responded to each remaining, adjacent finger expanded.

Plasticity of the Sensory Cortex

The nervous system's capacity to change and adapt is known as neuroplasticity. This adaptation can be triggered by various factors, such as personal experiences, normal developmental stages, or in response to damage or injury. The underlying mechanisms of neuroplasticity include the formation of new synapses, the elimination of unused ones, modifications in glial cells, and even the generation of new neurons. While the brain's plasticity is at its peak during early life, it retains a significant capacity for change and reorganization throughout adulthood.

Neuroplasticity

Infants have diverse hearing capbilities in early life. If that hearing ability isn't used, for example if they have damage or deformity in their ears, their ability to distinguish or interpret sounds disappears. 

Musicians show higher sensitivity and activation to musical notes, with bigger differences in brain imaging if the musician was trained from an early age.

Plasticity, auditory perception and auditory pathways

Studies utilizing Art Therapy  as part of a treatment for brain diseases or injuries can lead to promotion in brain plasticity

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