Adamson Maheen M, Bayley Peter J, Scanlon Blake K, Farrell Michelle E, Hernandez Beatriz, Weiner Michael W, Yesavage Jerome A, Taylor Joy L
War Related Illness and Injury Study Center and the Sierra-Pacific MIRECC, Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
Aviat Space Environ Med. 2012 Sep;83(9):850-7. doi: 10.3357/asem.3215.2012.
Previous research suggests that the size of the hippocampus can vary in response to intensive training (e.g., during the acquisition of expert knowledge). However, the role of the hippocampus in maintenance of skilled performance is not well understood. The Stanford/Veterans Affairs Aviation MRI Study offers a unique opportunity to observe the interaction of brain structure and multiple levels of expertise on longitudinal flight simulator performance.
The current study examined the relationship between hippocampal volume and three levels of aviation expertise, defined by pilot proficiency ratings issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (11). At 3 annual time points, 60 pilots who varied in their level of aviation expertise (ages ranging from 45 to 69 yr) were tested.
At baseline, higher expertise was associated with better flight simulator performance, but not with hippocampal volume. Longitudinally, there was an Expertise x Hippocampal volume interaction, in the direction that a larger hippocampus was associated with better performance at higher levels of expertise.
These results are consistent with the notion that expertise in a cognitively demanding domain involves the interplay of acquired knowledge ('mental schemas') and basic hippocampal-dependent processes.
先前的研究表明，海马体的大小可能会因强化训练（例如，在获取专业知识的过程中）而发生变化。然而，海马体在维持熟练技能表现中的作用尚未得到充分理解。斯坦福大学/退伍军人事务部航空MRI研究提供了一个独特的机会，来观察大脑结构与纵向飞行模拟器表现的多个专业水平之间的相互作用。
本研究考察了海马体体积与由美国联邦航空管理局颁发的飞行员熟练程度评级所定义的三个航空专业水平之间的关系（11）。在3个年度时间点，对60名航空专业水平各异（年龄在45至69岁之间）的飞行员进行了测试。
在基线时，更高的专业水平与更好的飞行模拟器表现相关，但与海马体体积无关。纵向来看，存在专业水平×海马体体积的交互作用，即在更高专业水平上，更大的海马体与更好的表现相关。
这些结果与以下观点一致，即在认知要求较高的领域中的专业技能涉及习得知识（“心理模式”）与基本的海马体依赖过程之间的相互作用。
