6. Learning and Memory in Mammals

Question 1

what memory type is the most fragile

Answer 1

working memory

Question 2

how is working memory different from STM

Answer 2

the information stored in working memory can be updated and manipulated unlike STM

Question 3

what happens to information in working memory after it has been used

Answer 3

it gets deleted

Question 4

what paradigm is used to test working memory

Answer 4

the rodent 8-arm radial maze test

Question 5

describe the rodent 8-arm radial maze test

Answer 5

8 arms each baited with a piece of food, each arm has a visual cue to allow it to be distinguished from the other arms

animals are free to explore arms but in order to be efficient they have to remember which arms they have already visited

Question 6

what type of memory is conscious

Answer 6

explicit = episodic and semantic

Question 7

what type of memory is unconscious

Answer 7

implicit (procesural)

Question 8

what are the two types of implicit memory

Answer 8

non-associative and associative

Question 9

what is the difference between non-associative and associative learning

Answer 9

non-associative = habituation and sensitisation
associative = stimulus and response - conditioning (operant and classical)

Question 10

what is hebbian learning

Answer 10

neurons that fire together wire together !

Question 11

describe the perruchet effect

Answer 11

air puff paired with tone noise
people associate the air puff with a noise and will blink
eventually they will just blink in response to the tone

this association can be weakened by many repeated tone and no-air puff trials

Question 12

what are the 5 stages of explicit learning

Answer 12

1. encoding
2. storage
3. consolidation - fragile memories become more stable
4. retrieval
5. re-consolidation

Question 13

describe the HM case study

Answer 13

medial temporal lobectomy patient who experienced significant anterograde amnesia post-op.

procedural motor skill learning was left intact = evidence = improvement in the mirror-drawing task despite no recollection of previously performing it

Question 14

what region is the storage place of LTM

Answer 14

neocortex

Question 15

what region is responsible for executive function and working memory

Answer 15

prefrontal cortex

Question 16

what region is responsible for consolidation and retrieval

Answer 16

parietal lobe

Question 17

what region is responsible for emotional memory

Answer 17

amygdala

Question 18

what region is responsible for motor memory

Answer 18

cerebellum

Question 19

what region is responsible for memory encoding

Answer 19

hippocampus = temporal lobe

Question 20

describe the Morris water maze

Answer 20

animals are trained to find a submerged platform to escape from the water, they use external cues in the room for navigation

latency to find the platform is measured

the platform is then removed from the maze, if memory has been formed the animal should spend more time in the quadrant where the platform used to be

Question 21

how do mice with beta amyloid or hippocampal lesions perform in the Morris water maze

Answer 21

impaired performance - spatial memory deficits

Question 22

where is spatial memory encoded

Answer 22

hippocampus

Question 23

describe the Clive wearing case study

Answer 23

bilateral medial temporal lobe damage - couldn’t process STM into LTM

experienced deficits in semantic and episodic memory

retained procedural memory - able to perform complex piano compositions

= evidence of different stores

Question 24

what did the Clive wearing case study challenge

Answer 24

the popular view that STM is a form of activated LTM

also emphasised the importance of the rehearsal loop.

Question 25

at what stage does false memories get produced

Answer 25

during re-consolidation - they are placed in a fragile state.

Question 26

ER: describe the two sensory registers and how each are encodied

Answer 26

coding in the iconic sensory register is visual

coding in the echoic sensory register is acoustic

Question 27

who proposed the working memory model

Answer 27

Baddeley and Hitch 1974

Question 28

describe the study confirming different stores for episodic and semantic LTM

Answer 28

Tulving 1994
- injected radioactive gold into his blood stream and thought about semantic and episodic memories
- PET scanning measured blood flow in his brain

results: episodic = blood flow to the front of the brain
semantic = increased blood flow to the back of the brain