6-Learning, Biology and the Brain Flashcards
goals
- intro to evolutionary psych
- taste aversion learning
- my boi H.M.
- long term potentiation and long term depression in learning and memory
3 requirements for natural selection to occur
- all individuals of a species vary behaviourally and physiologically
- some variations are heritable genetically
- intraspecies competition for important resources
Taste aversion learning
description + what is in an example of
An organism learns to avoid a specific food after a single negative experience with it
example of an adaptive mechanism
One-trial aquisition
description + example
when a single pairing of a stimulus and response triggers a learned association
eg: taste aversion learning - getting food poisoning once causes a person to avoid the food, as they now associate it with illness
Delayed Conditioning
description + example
When a conditioned response is formed despite a significant delay between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli
eg: taste aversion learning - can get an aversion to a specific food even when illness occurs hours or even a day after consumption
study hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain sections from 1FF3
Hindbrain
- medulla oblongata
- pons
- cerebellum
Midbrain
- tectum
- tegmentum
Forebrain
- diencephalon
- telencephalon
- basal ganglia
- limbic system
H.M. case study
injury + treatment + results
injury: bicycle accident eventually led to epileptic seizures
treatment: removed portions of temporal lobes, hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus
results: unable to form new memories but his prior memories were intact (eg: language, childhood experiences…)
Long term potentiation (LTP)
description
When synapses are strengthened - postsynaptic neuron can more easily respond to signals from the presynaptic neuron
Can be triggered via high frequency neural stimulation
Long term depression (LTD)
When synapses are weakened - postsynaptic neuron response is reduced/inhibited to signals from the presynaptic neuron
Can be triggered via low frequency neural stimulation
Habituation vs Sensitization
Habituation
- reduced neural response (LTD)
- eg: no longer reacting strongly to a pain stimulus
Sensitization
- strengthened neural response (LTP)
- eg: developing a strong and fast fear response to loud noises
learning
Blocking
definition + experiment + results
When a previous CS conditioning process prevents conditioning to another CS
experiment with rats:
- control: no previous training
- blocking: conditioned noise –> shock
- both groups undergo conditioning: noise + light –> shock
- both groups shown the light, response measured
results:
- control: learned that light –> shock (froze, showing fear response)
- blocking: did not learn light –> shock (behaved normally when light presented)
4 forms of learning
list
- Perceptual
- Stimulus-Response
- Motor
- Relational
Perceptual learning
description + example
Recognizing and locating people, objects and other stimuli in our environment. Includes recognizing changes in familiar stimuli and recognizing entirely new stimuli
eg: learning to recognize your friends’ faces, noticing they got a haircut…
Stimulus-Response learning
description + example
Learning an automatic response to a stimulus (classical conditioning)
eg: locking the door after you leave the house
Motor learning
description + example
Coordinated movements or integration of sensory input and motor output (muscle memory) (instrumental conditioning)
eg: speaking, playing instruments, sports…
