| Course | SBS 105 Introduction to Psychology |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Biology of behavior paper |
| Length | About 1,021 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for SBS 105 Module 2
Can Learning Change the Adult Brain? What Taxi Drivers and Jugglers Reveal About Neuroplasticity
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
SBS 105: Introduction to Psychology
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Can Learning Change the Adult Brain? What Taxi Drivers and Jugglers Reveal About Neuroplasticity
Morgan is forty-two, supervises a warehouse and has just enrolled in an online course to learn computer programming. Morgan has heard that brains stop changing after childhood and wonders whether it is too late to learn something hard. This question belongs to the biology of behavior, the part of psychology that studies how the nervous system produces and is shaped by behavior. Research on neuroplasticity gives a hopeful but careful answer. Morgan is invented; the studies are real.
Neurons, Gray Matter and the Hippocampus
The brain contains billions of neurons, cells that communicate through electrical and chemical signals. Gray matter consists largely of neuron cell bodies and their connections, and it can be measured with magnetic resonance imaging. The hippocampus, a curved structure deep in each temporal lobe, plays a central role in forming new memories and in spatial navigation, the ability to know where one is and how to get somewhere. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's capacity to change its structure and function in response to experience. For a long time, scientists believed the adult brain's structure was largely fixed. The studies below helped change that view.
The Taxi Drivers
Maguire et al. (2000) studied licensed London taxi drivers. To earn a license, drivers spend years learning the layout of thousands of streets and landmarks, a body of knowledge known as the Knowledge. The researchers compared brain scans of sixteen experienced male taxi drivers with scans of fifty men who did not drive taxis. The drivers had larger posterior, or rear, hippocampi, and a smaller anterior portion. Among the drivers, the volume of the rear hippocampus increased with the number of years spent driving a taxi.
The study suggested that intensive spatial learning had enlarged part of the hippocampus. But because it compared different groups at one time, another explanation was possible: people born with larger hippocampi might be more likely to become taxi drivers and to stay in the job.
The Jugglers
Draganski et al. (2004) tested whether learning could change brain structure using a design that followed the same people over time. They scanned adults who had never juggled, then had half of them learn a three-ball juggling routine over three months. After training, the jugglers showed an increase in gray matter in areas of the brain involved in processing visual motion, compared with the non-jugglers. Three months after they stopped practicing, much of the increase had faded.
Because the same people were scanned before and after learning, and the comparison group did not change, the study strengthened the case that learning caused the change. The fading after practice stopped suggested that such changes depend on continued use.
The Trainee Drivers
Woollett and Maguire (2011) returned to London's taxi drivers with a stronger design. They scanned seventy-nine trainees at the start of their training and a comparison group of thirty-one people who were not training. Three to four years later, they scanned them again. Thirty-nine trainees had qualified as drivers. Only those who qualified showed an increase in the volume of the rear hippocampus; trainees who failed and the comparison group did not. The qualified drivers also performed better on tests of London landmarks, while performing worse on some other memory tasks.
What Each Design Shows
| Study | Design | What it adds about cause |
|---|---|---|
| Maguire and colleagues, 2000 | Comparison of different groups at one time | Shows a difference linked to years of driving, but cannot rule out that people with larger hippocampi chose the job |
| Draganski and colleagues, 2004 | Same people scanned before and after learning, with a comparison group | Shows change following learning, and fading when practice stops |
| Woollett and Maguire, 2011 | Trainees followed for years, with a comparison group | Shows growth only in those who successfully learned the city |
What This Means for Morgan
The research offers Morgan encouragement. Adult brains can change in response to sustained learning, and the changes appear in the areas most used by the new skill. The research also offers caution. The changes appeared after months or years of intensive practice, faded when practice stopped and came with trade-offs in the taxi drivers. Learning to code will not make Morgan smarter in general. But consistent practice will build the specific knowledge and skills programming requires, and the brain will adapt to support them.
Why Practice Matters
The fading of the jugglers' gray matter after they stopped practicing carries an important lesson. The brain appears to invest in the structures a person uses and to scale back those that fall idle. For Morgan, this means that spreading study over many weeks, with regular practice, is more likely to build lasting skill than intense bursts followed by long breaks. It also means that keeping a skill requires using it. Research on learning in later modules of this course points in the same direction: distributed, repeated practice produces more durable learning than cramming. The biology and the behavior tell a consistent story, which is part of what makes the conclusion convincing. Morgan's plan, an hour of coding practice five evenings a week rather than a weekend marathon once a month, fits what the studies suggest about how the brain changes.
Limits of the Evidence
These studies used small samples, mostly men in the taxi research, and measured structure, not exactly how the changes affect thinking. Brain imaging shows where volume changes, not why. Researchers still debate whether the growth reflects new neurons, new connections between existing neurons or changes in supporting cells and blood supply, and the answer may differ by brain region. Still, three studies with different designs point in the same direction, which gives the conclusion more weight than any one of them alone.
Conclusion
The adult brain is not fixed. Maguire and colleagues found that taxi drivers' hippocampi differed with experience, Draganski and colleagues showed that learning to juggle changed gray matter in months and Woollett and Maguire showed growth only in trainees who learned the city. For Morgan and other adult learners, the message is that sustained practice changes the brain in the places the learning uses.
References
Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. (2004). Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427(6972), 311-312. https://doi.org/10.1038/427311a
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
Woollett, K., & Maguire, E. A. (2011). Acquiring "the Knowledge" of London's layout drives structural brain changes. Current Biology, 21(24), 2109-2114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.11.018
What the SBS 105 Module 2 instructions ask for
Module 2 of SBS 105 usually takes up the biology of behavior, and the paper asks students to explain a topic such as neurons, brain structures or plasticity and connect it to behavior. Check the Module 2 instructions in your classroom; the learner here is fictional. Explain the relevant biology in clear terms. Describe research on the topic, including its design. Explain what the research shows about cause and effect. Apply the topic to everyday life. Note the limits of the evidence, such as small samples, and give full APA 7 references for every study you describe.
How the SBS 105 Module 2 example is put together
The paper explains neurons, gray matter and the hippocampus, a structure important for memory and spatial navigation, and defines neuroplasticity. Maguire and colleagues (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) compared brain scans of sixteen taxi drivers with those of fifty men who did not drive taxis. Draganski and colleagues (Nature) scanned adults before and after three months of juggling practice and again after they stopped. Woollett and Maguire (Current Biology) scanned trainees before and after the years of study needed to pass London's taxi licensing test. A table shows that the first study is correlational, while the second and third follow the same people over time, which strengthens the case that learning caused the change. The application follows Morgan, a forty-two-year-old warehouse supervisor learning to code, and explains what the research does and does not promise.
Reading the SBS 105 Module 2 grading rubric
Biology of behavior papers in introductory psychology earn credit for accurate, clear explanations of the biology and for linking them to behavior with evidence. This example defines its terms before using them, describes each study's participants and design and explains why following people over time is stronger evidence than comparing different groups. It reports the reversal of the juggling effect, which shows careful reading. The application is honest about limits, avoiding the claim that learning will make anyone smarter in general. The table makes the reasoning about cause easy to follow, and the closing limits section shows the writer knows how much weight the evidence can bear.
SBS 105 Module 2 help from the desk
Biology papers often use technical terms without defining them or describe brain areas without connecting them to behavior. Explain each term the first time you use it. Another weakness is treating a difference between groups as proof that one thing caused another; explain whether the study followed the same people over time. Report what was measured and in whom, including the size of each group, since small samples limit what a study can show. Avoid exaggerated claims about brain training. Finally, connect the research to real behavior in a way that respects what the studies actually showed. If the studies involved adults practicing for months, say so when you apply them, rather than implying quick results.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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SBS 105 Module 2 questions, answered
What does SBS 105 Module 2 usually ask for?
Aspen's SBS 105 covers the biology of behavior in this module, so explaining a topic such as neurons, brain structures or plasticity and connecting it to behavior is typical. Check your classroom prompt.
What is neuroplasticity?
The brain's ability to change its structure and function in response to experience and learning.
Do London taxi drivers have different brains?
Maguire and colleagues found experienced drivers had a larger rear hippocampus, and a later study found it grew as trainees learned the city.
Where can I find a free SBS 105 Module 2 sample paper?
Read it free on this page: a biology of behavior paper on adult neuroplasticity using studies of taxi drivers and jugglers.
Can adults' brains still change?
Yes. Studies of adults learning to juggle or to navigate a city found measurable changes in brain structure.