London taxi drivers are at the centre of a new pioneering research project to uncover new clues in understanding Alzheimer’s disease.
The Taxi Brains study is recruiting black cab drivers to look at the specific part of the brain – the hippocampus – that is involved in memory.
London’s cab drivers are renowned for their memory power through learning The Knowledge, the test they must pass to show they know the name and location of more than 58,000 streets and the shortest or quickest route to it.
Previous studies have shown that taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus compared to non-taxi drivers – but this is the part of the brain that shrinks and becomes damaged in Alzheimer’s disease, leading to symptoms of memory loss and confusion.
Understanding which parts of the hippocampus get bigger in relation to navigation ability will provide critical insights needed to help develop diagnostics for the earlier detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Early diagnosis will help doctors treat patients sooner, limiting the disease and improving quality of life.
Through the study, taxi drivers will do a navigation task to test their ability to plan routes through London, and will be asked to complete some questionnaires after this. For those who can, they will also undergo an MRI scan to look at the structure of the hippocampus.
The study is led by UCL and funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK and Ordnance Survey.
Lead researcher Professor Hugo Spiers, of UCL Psychology & Language Sciences, hopes the results from this study will help develop diagnostics to improve early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
Prof Spiers said: “We know from previous research that the hippocampi of London taxi drivers’ brains are larger than average, and that this is also an area that shrinks in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
“We hope that taxi drivers could help us learn more about how the hippocampus helps us to navigate, which could provide new insights into how this part of the brain is involved in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.”
Dr Laura Phipps, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Almost one million people in the UK are currently affected by dementia and there is an urgent need to better understand the changes in the brain causing these diseases.
“Problems with coordination and getting lost can be one of the first symptoms in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Studying London taxi drivers provides a unique opportunity to understand these early changes, with the hope of improving early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in future.
“Diseases like Alzheimer’s can start in the brain up to two decades before symptoms show, so understanding how to identify those at risk early could help researchers to deliver life-changing preventions and treatments in the years ahead.”
