Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

PSY219 > 11: Learning, Memory, and Amnesia > Flashcards

11: Learning, Memory, and Amnesia Flashcards

1
Q

What is learning?

A

A process whereby changes in the brain are initiated by experience.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is memory?

A

The storage and reactivation of the learning changes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is amnesia?

A

A pathological loss of memory.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What surgery did HM have done on his brain?

A
  • Bilateral medial temporal lobectomy.

- This removed most of the hippocampus.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the difference between a lobectomy and a lobotomy?

A

Lobectomy is the removal of a lobe or most of it.

Lobotomy is the separation, but not removal, of a lobe or most of it from the rest of the brain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What type of amnesia did HM have post-surgery?

A

Anterograde amnesia for long-term memories.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is a well-established test for verbal long-term memory?

A

The digit span + 1 test.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is memory consolidation?

A

The transposition of short-term memories into long-term memories.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What do repetition priming tests measure?

A

Implicit memory.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are semantic memories?

A

Explicit memories for general facts and information.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are episodic memories?

A

Explicit memories for particular events in one’s life.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is cerebral ischemia?

A

An interruption in the blood supply to the brain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What type of amnesia does cerebral ischemia cause?

A

Medial temporal lobe amnesia.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What damage is associated with Korsakoff’s syndrome (3)?

A

Damage to the medial diencephalon, cerebellum, and hippocampus.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Aside from medial temporal lobe amnesia, what else develops in Korsakoff’s syndrome?

A

Severe retrograde amnesia.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What causes the reduction of acetylcholine levels in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients?

A

The degeneration of the basal forebrain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is post-traumatic amnesia (PTA)?

A

Amnesia caused by concussion blows.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are ‘Islands of memory’?

A

Surviving memories for isolated events that occurred during periods for which other memories have been wiped out.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is Hebb’s theory of memory consolidation?

A

Memories are initially stored in short-term storage, but their structure changes, by means of reverberating, become accessible in the long-term storage.

20
Q

What is a commonly-used controlled method for studying memory consolidation?

A

Electroconvulsive shock (ECS)

21
Q

What is the ‘standard consolidation theory’?

A

Short-term memories reside temporarily in the hippocampus until they become long-term memories, stored somewhere more stable in the brain.

22
Q

What does the ‘multiple trace theory’ propose?

A

The hippocampus and other cortical systems responsible for memory storage will keep memories for as long as they exist.

23
Q

What is an ‘engram’?

A

A change in the brain that stores a memory.

24
Q

What does the ‘delayed nonmatching-to-sample test’ measure?

A

Object recognition abilities.

25
Q

What type of brain damage reduced object recognition abilities?

A

Removal of the medial temporal lobes (like HM).

26
Q

What is the Mumby box?

A

The rat version of the delayed nonmatching-to-sample test.

27
Q

Cerebral ischemia leads to a loss of…

A

CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cells.

28
Q

What are the two cortexes that make up the rhinal cortex?

A
  • Entorhinal (within the cortex)

- Perirhinal (surrounding the cortex)

29
Q

Which rhinal cortex plays a role in object recognition?

A

The perirhinal cortex.

30
Q

Rats with hippocampal lesions have serious deficits in what 2 types of memory?

A

Reference and working memory.

31
Q

What are place cells?

A

Neurons that are fired only when an individual is in a specific location.

32
Q

What is the cognitive map theory?

A

Hippocampus is a part of the brain that has been specialized for spatial cognition.

33
Q

Two major findings about memory storage…

A
  • Memories are diffusely stored, so damage in one area of brain doesn’t mean loss of memory.
  • Memories are increasingly resistant to destruction over time.
34
Q

What role does the amygdala have in memory?

A

Emotional significance of memories.

35
Q

Prefrontal cortex may have a role in which two types of memory?

A

Working and temporal memory.

36
Q

What is the cerebellum’s role in memory storage?

A

Stores memories for learned sensorimotor skills.

37
Q

What is the striatum’s role in memory storage?

A

Habit-formation memories.

38
Q

What did Hebb argue was the basis for long-term memory?

A

Changes in the efficiency of synaptic transmission.

39
Q

What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?

A

High-frequency electrical stimulation to presynaptic neurons induced by synaptic transmission.

40
Q

Why is LTP so widely studied?

A

Because they are very similar to Hebb’s theory of synaptic changes for long-term memory.

41
Q

What are the two key properties of LTP?

A
  • It can last for months if successful.
  • Successfully develops only if postsynaptic firing follows presynaptic firing.
    (Co-occurrence, a.k.a Hebb’s Postulate for Learning’)
42
Q

What is the NMDA receptor?

A
  • Receptor for glutamate

- Prominent at synapses, hence its significance for LTP.

43
Q

NMDA receptors do not respond effectively unless 2 things co-occur…

A
  • Glutamate is bound to the receptor.

- Postsynaptic neuron must already be partially depolarized.

44
Q

Why is it important that postsynaptic neurons must already be partially depolarized for a successful LTP?

A
  • Enables the generation of associations in the neural network. This is the foundation for a LTP to last.
45
Q

What is long-term depression (LTD)?

A
  • Opposite of LTD.

- Prolonged co-occurrence of low-frequency stimulation of presynaptic neurons.

46
Q

Which amnesic patient seemed to provide strong evidence for the involvement of the hippocampus in memory?

A

R.B.

PSY219 (11 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions