3-Memory and parts of the brain involved with memory Flashcards
rehearsal
conscious repetition of information to be remembered
Chunking
- organizing information into manageable bits or chunks
- Usefully for info like dates and phone numbers
Elaborating rehearsal
technique in which you think about the meaning of the new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory
Mnemonic devices
- memory aids that help us organize information for encoding
- Use for when recalling larger bits of info
- Acronym, knuckles, etc.
- The more vivid or unusual, the easier it is to remember
Expressive writing
Helps boost short term memory, particularly if you write about a traumatic experience
Saying words aloud
Increases the word’s distinctiveness
self-reference effect
Rewrite stuff in your own words
forgetting curve
information you learn drops off rapidly with time
automatic processing
encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words→ usually done without any conscious awareness
effortful processing
stuff you need work and attention to encode
SEMANTIC ENCODING
- Encoding of words and their meaning
- relating info in a meaningful way to knowledge that is already stored in memory
- Information is better remember when it is meaningful
- The more meaning the better!!
- Deeper level of processing than the other encoding methods
- We process verbal information best through this
- Especially if we apply the self-reference effect
self-reference effect
Tendency for individual to have better memory for information that relates to oneself in comparison to material that has less
VISUAL ENCODING
- Encoding of images
- Walk around house, think of the weirdest things that places could be
- also related to the inherent properties of the word
High imagery words
- easy to find image, concrete
- Encoded both semantically and visually
Low imagery words
abstract, hard to find
ACOUSTIC ENCODING
- Encoding the sounds that the words make
- Enhanced through semantic and auditory coding (e.g. rhyming)
STORAGE
creation of a permanent record of information
Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of Memory
- based on belief that we process memories in the same way that a computer processes information
- for a memory to pass into storage, it has to pass through three distinct stages:
- sensory memory
- short-term memory
- long-term memory
Baddeley and Hitch Model
- short term memory itself has different forms
- storing short term memory depends on the type of information received
- visual-spatial form
- spoken or written material
- stored in three short-term systems:
- visuospatial sketchpad
- episodic buffer
- phonological loop
- there is a central executive part of memory that supervises/controls the flow of information to and from the three short-term systems
Sensory Memory
stimuli from environment processed in sensory memory first
- brief sensory events—sights, sounds, tastes
- holds sensory information for anywhere between 0.5-5 seconds
- Sights sounds tastes textures
- Helps us interact and navigate the world, but most of the information (what I wore during the midterm) is useless
- Any information not attended to will be lost
Stroop effect
will name a colour more easily if it appears printed in that colour
short-term memory
temporary storage that processes incoming sensory memory (AKA working memory)
- Takes info from sensory info and connects to long term information
- lasts around 20 seconds
- will remain in short term memory as long as it is rehearsed
- On average—can handle 7 plus or minus 2 pieces of information
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Short term memory is better with:
- Numbers vs letters
- Acoustic vs visual encoding
memory consolidation
step of rehearsal, conscious repetition of information to be remembered to move STM to long-term memory
long-term memory
continuous storage of information with no storage limit
types of long-term memory
- Explicative (declarative)
- Episodic (about events we personally experienced)
- Semantic (language and knowledge about language)
- Implicit (non-declarative) not part of our conscious; formed from behaviours
- Procedural (juggling)
- Emotional conditioning (associating an emotion with an experience)
important because things can leave certain types of LTM intact while others are damaged
RETRIEVAL
bringing information out of long term storage into short term memory
-
Recall
- Retrieving information without any retrieval cues
- Short answer -
Recognition
- Identify information that you have previously learned
- Multiple choice
- Retrieval cue—external information that is associated with stored information
- Environment can act as a retrieval cue
- Inner state can also act as retrieval cue—state-dependent retrieval
- Good mood vs bad mood!
- Recall is better if in same state during encoding -
Relearning
- relearning information that was previously learned
KARL KASHLEY
- first science to formally explore memory
- used experiments on mice and rats and monkeys
- put them in maze, get them to learn the maze
- then took them out, damaged parts of the mice’s brain
- can they still solve the problem?
- YES! no matter WHERE
- was looking for the engram
- believed that the brain was super super alive!
- As a result, he made the Equipotentiality hypothesis
- But… he was not making lesions the right parts of the brain
- soooo he was wrong
engram
- physical bunch of neurons where your memory lives
- Group of neurons that are the physical representation of memory
EQUIPOTENTIALITY HYPOTHESIS
If the part of the brain involved with memory is damaged, another part of the brain will take over the memory function
main parts of the brain involved with memory
- amygdala — declarative and non-declarative (emotional)
- the hippocampus—declarative (episodic memories) also consolidating long-term (note: also semantic memory)
- the cerebellum—Non-declarative (procedural)
- the prefrontal cortex—Declarative (semantic)
THE AMYGDALA
- Emotion regulation — Fear and aggression
- Plays a part in how memories are stored
- Storage is influenced by stress hormones
- Involved in fear and fear memories
- Lateral amygdala
- Pairing emotions with memory
- classical conditioning when is emotional response!
- Involved in memory consolidation — turning something into long-term memory
- Facilitate encoding memories At a deeper leave especially for emotionally arousing events
- non-declarative (emotional)
THE HIPPOCAMPUS
- normal recognition memory and spatial memory
- Projects information to cortical regions that give memories meaning and connect them with other connected memories
- associated with declarative, episodic memory, and recognition memory
- Responsible for episodic memories
- recognition memory
- Plays a part in memory consolidation—the process of transferring new learning into long-term memory
- Calls on all parts of the brain to reconstruct a memory
- Damage: affects declarative memories
THE CEREBELLUM
- Non-declarative memories
- Procedural memories
- Motor learning
- Classical conditioning—whenever it’s a MOTOR RESPONSE being conditioned
THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX
- What specialization do we find in our prefrontal cortex
- Inferior frontal gyrus — semantic learning
- LEFT hemisphere: semantic memory
- RIGHT hemisphere: retrieving information
what neurotransmitters are involved in memory
Dopamine / norepinephrine / serotonin / glutamate / acetylcholine
Arousal theory
- strong emotions create strong memories
- Times of stress: glutamate is like yo.
- Highly visceral stimuli, more glutamate released
Flashbulb memory phenomenon
very clear recollection of an important event
Deere-Roediger-McDermott Paradigm
procedure in cognitive psychology used to study false memory in humans (omg a bunch of sleep-related words but sleep isn’t actually there!!)
