Satellite navigation systems can stunt your brain, preventing it from developing, according to scientists. They have discovered that taxi drivers have actually grown more brain cells because of all the knowledge they keep in their heads.
The mid-posterior hippocampus is where black-cab drivers store a mental map of London, including up to 25,000 street names and the location of all the major tourist attractions.
The research is the first to show that the brains of adults can grow in response to specialist use. It has been known that areas of children’s brains can grow when they learn music or a language. The scientists warn that increasingly widespread use of satellite navigation could change all that. “GPS [Global Positioning System] may have a big effect,” says Dr Eleanor Maguire, who led the research at University College London. [story]