13 The Biology of Learning And Memory Flashcards
pairing two stimuli changes the response to one of them
classical conditioning
initially elicits no special response (sound from metronome
conditioning stimulus
unconditioned stimulus automatically elicits an
unconditioned response (meat elicits salvation in dog)
after several pairings of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, the dog begins making a new, learned response to the conditioned stimulus
conditioned response
order of classical conditioning
CS, UCS, UCR, CR
an individual’s response leads to a reinforcer or punisher
to weaken or strengthen a behavior
operant conditioning
any event that increases the future probability of the response
reinforcer
an event that suppresses the frequency of the response
punishment
learning that occurs as result of observing the experience of others
observational learning
the natural tendency to imitate the behavior of significant others
modeling
phenomenon in which one avoids a certain food because it once made them sick
conditioned taste aversion
classical conditioning reflects a strengthened connection between a ____ center and a ____ center in the brain
CS, UCS
the physical representation of what has been learned
a connection between two brain areas
engram
results of Lashley’s Search for the Engram
learning and memory did not depend entirely on connections across the cortex
removing large portions of cerebral cortex:
learning does not depend on a single area of the cortex
the amount taken out mattered
all parts of cortex contribute equally to learning, and any part of cortex can substitute for any other
equipotentialty
the cortex works as a whole, and more cortex is better
mass action
memory for events that just occured
short-term memory
memory for events from further back
long-term memory
short term capacity
limited
long term capacity
does not
events forgotten from short-term memory are
lost
emotional experiences increase secretion of:
epinephrine and cortisol
involves the way we store information while we’re working with it
working memory
a common test of WM
requires responding to something you saw or heard a short while ago
delayed response task
_____ memory often impaired in older people
probably results from changes in prefrontal cortex
working
older humans who show declining memory show declining:
activity in prefrontal cortex
H.M. had what removed
hippocampus from both hemishpheres
H.M. was unable to form new ____ _____ memories
long term
H.M. intellect and language we
unimpaired
H.M. ‘s situation showed that the ______ was vital for forming new long term memories
hippocampus
H.M. suffered massive ______ & ______amnesia
anterograde, retrograde
inability to form memories for events that happened after brain damage
anterograde amnesia
loss of memory for events that occurred before brain damage
version portrayed in movies
retrograde amnesia
memory for specific events in your life
episodic memory
ability to state a memory in words
declarative memory
H.M. has better _____ memory
implicit
memory involving a deliberate retrieval of information. you recognize it as a memory
explicit memory
an influence pf recent experience on behavior. you do not recognize that influence
implicit memory
development of motor skills and habits
procedural memory
people with _____ damage have great difficulty learning new facts
hippocamal
animal sees object the sample and then, after a delay, gets a choice between two objects
delayed matching-to-sample task
animal sees object the sample and then, after a delay, gets a choice between two objects but must choose the object that is different from the sample
delayed nonmatching-to-sample task
has eight or more arms, some of which have a reinforcer at the end
radial maze
the hippocampus may be particularly important for remembering the ________ of an event
details and context
the more consolidated a memory becomes the less it relies on the
hippocampus
gradual learning over repeated experiences depends on the
basil ganglia
hippocampus is more important for
basal ganglia more important for
declarative
procedural
brain damage cause by prolonged thiamine deficiency (vitamin B1)
often due to chronic alcoholism
apathy, confusion, forgetting and confabulation
Korsakoff”s syndrome
brain needs thiamine to
metabolize glucose
prolonged thiamine deficency leads to ________ __ _____ of neurons throughout the brain
loss or shrinkage
guessing to fillin memory gaps
confabulation
disease associated with gradual loss of memory anf other cognitive functioning
Alzheimer’s Disease
AD patients have better
procedural than decarative
clumps of beta amyloid that cluster among axon terminals leads to disrution of neural transmission
plaques
result from abnormal contractions of the protien inside neurons lead to death of neurons
tangles
genes controlling early onset AD cause protien _____ to accumulate both inside and outside neurons
amyloid beta
treatments for AD
no drug is highly effective
most common is to stimulate acetylcholine receptors or prolong acetylcholine release- results in increase arousal
appear to lack ability to elaborate on a memory spontaneously
piece info together
parietal lobe damage
loss of certain types of semantic memory
results from damage in the anterior and inferior regions of the temporal lobe
some patients can’t identify living things
semantic dementia
cells in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex respond based on _________ ______, based on past experience
the reward to be expected
cells in the oribtofrontal cortex respond based ___________ to other possible choices
on how that reward compares
a synapse that increases in effectiveness because of simultaneous activity in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons
Hebbian synapse
Hebbian synapse is critical for many kinds of:
associative learning
touch and vigorously withdraws irritated structure
withdrawl response
a decrease in response to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly and accompanied by no charge in other stimuli
sensory neurons are failing to excite motor neurons as it previously did
habituation
an increase in response to mild stimuli as a result of exposure to more intense stimuli
sensitzation
the presynaptic neuron continues releasing its neurotransmitter for longer than usual
result of sensitization
occurs when one or more axons connected to a dendrite bombard it with brief but rapid series of stimuli
increase in synaptic strength resulting from the simultaneous activity in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neuron
long term potentiation
specificity, cooperativity, associativity
three properties of LTP
only synapses onto a cell that have been highly active become strengthened
specificity
simultaneous stimulation by 2 or more axons produces LTP much more strongly than does repeated stimulation by a single axon
cooperativity
pairing a weak input with a strong input enhances later responses to a weak input
associativity
opposite change that occurs in the hippocampus and cerebellum
one synapse strengthens while the other weakens
long-term depression
types of glutamate receptors
AMPA
NMDA
typical iontropic receptor that opens sodium channels
AMPA
its response to glutamate depends on degree of polarization across the membrane
leads to action potential and depolarization of cell
NMDA
the ion channel is blocked by
magnesium ions
NMDA channels opens only if the
magnesium leaves
