2024 Study of 9 Million U.s. Death Certificates Links Taxi and Ambulance Driving to Lower Alzheimer's Rates

Researchers linked the benefit to continuous real-time navigation, not driving itself, since bus drivers and pilots showed no similar advantage. The hippocampus, which handles memory and spatial navigation, is believed to be key; a 2000 study of London taxi drivers found more gray matter in that region, growing with experience. The findings suggest navigation-heavy work may protect against Alzheimer's, raising questions about whether screen-based spatial reasoning in jobs like GIS offers similar benefits. "The Knowledge" test used by London taxi drivers, which requires memorizing thousands of streets, may explain the protective effect.