6. Learning and Memory in Mammals Flashcards
what memory type is the most fragile
working memory
how is working memory different from STM
the information stored in working memory can be updated and manipulated unlike STM
what happens to information in working memory after it has been used
it gets deleted
what paradigm is used to test working memory
the rodent 8-arm radial maze test
describe the rodent 8-arm radial maze test
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
what type of memory is conscious
explicit = episodic and semantic
what type of memory is unconscious
implicit (procesural)
what are the two types of implicit memory
non-associative and associative
what is the difference between non-associative and associative learning
non-associative = habituation and sensitisation
associative = stimulus and response - conditioning (operant and classical)
what is hebbian learning
neurons that fire together wire together !
describe the perruchet effect
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
what are the 5 stages of explicit learning
- encoding
- storage
- consolidation - fragile memories become more stable
- retrieval
- re-consolidation
describe the HM case study
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
what region is the storage place of LTM
neocortex
what region is responsible for executive function and working memory
prefrontal cortex
what region is responsible for consolidation and retrieval
parietal lobe
what region is responsible for emotional memory
amygdala
what region is responsible for motor memory
cerebellum
what region is responsible for memory encoding
hippocampus = temporal lobe
describe the Morris water maze
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
how do mice with beta amyloid or hippocampal lesions perform in the Morris water maze
impaired performance - spatial memory deficits
where is spatial memory encoded
hippocampus
describe the Clive wearing case study
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
what did the Clive wearing case study challenge
the popular view that STM is a form of activated LTM
also emphasised the importance of the rehearsal loop.
at what stage does false memories get produced
during re-consolidation - they are placed in a fragile state.
ER: describe the two sensory registers and how each are encodied
coding in the iconic sensory register is visual
coding in the echoic sensory register is acoustic
who proposed the working memory model
Baddeley and Hitch 1974
describe the study confirming different stores for episodic and semantic LTM
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
