21 Memory III Flashcards
What was Freud’s theory about REPRESSION
TRAUMATIC memories may be repressed
= unavailable for retrieval
What did Freud suggest was the REASON for repression of traumatic memories
PROTECTIVE mechanism to prevent RELIVING trauma?
Repressed memories can sometimes be RECOVERED using…
THERAPY
Why are Freud’s theories about repression CONTROVERSIAL
- May have simply FORGOTTEN the memory
* Recovered memories may be FALSE memories implanted by THERAPIST
In terms of mental time travel, what does EPISODIC memory allow us to do?
“REPLAY” the past
“IMAGINE” the future
What is NOT the function of episodic memory?
What is the ACTUAL function of episodic memory?
NOT to recall past accurately
To provide material to PLAN FUTURE
Therefore, episodic memory evolved to be______ rather than ______
Episodic memory evolved to be USEFUL rather than ACCURATE
= UNRELIABLE
What brain areas are activated during:
- Episodic FUTURE imagining
- Episodic PAST remembering
Episodic FUTURE = ANT hippocampus
Episodic PAST = POS hippocampus
What brain area is involved in forward/backward mental TIME TRAVEL
HIPPOCAMPUS involved in BOTH forward and backwards mental time travel
Why did Clive Wearing and HM live in a 7 second WINDOW?
Hippocampal dmg = can’t recall past OR imagine future
Hippocampal ATROPHY gives rise to what disase?
Alzheimers
What substance AFFECTS hippocampal function?
Alcohol
What SHAPE function is alcohol’s effect on hippocampus
U-shaped function
How does LOW vs HIGH alcohol affect the hippocampus?
LOW alcohol = IMPROVE dementia + stroke! 😃
HIGH alcohol = Korsakoff syndrome (severe memory loss) 😢
Hippocampal function can be ENHANCED by
Exercise
What CELLS are the key units of the hippocampus
What is their FUNCTION
“Place cells” = tells LOCATION (GPS)
Examples of people with HYPERACTIVE Place cells
London TAXI drivers with “the Knowledge”
= ENLARGED hippocampi
Expalin 2 ways in which we can mentally TRAVEL into OTHERS’ MINDS
- Empathy = understanding others
* Theory of mind = imagine self in someone elses’ head
The _____ component of mental travels may be the SOURCE of ______
Give examples
The RANDOM component of mental travels may be the SOURCE of CREATIVITY
- dreams
- hallucinations
- fantasy
- fiction + stories
When asked “What are you doing” in a survey, what as ASSOCIATED with people who reported “mind wandering”?
Explain why this may be
Mind wandering = LESS HAPPY
*brooding about past?
