B7.060 Learning and Memory

Question 1

classes of memory

Answer 1

declarative (explicit)

non-declarative (implicit)

Question 2

declarative memory

Answer 2

conscious
perceptual v executive
episodic v semantic

Question 3

non-declarative memory

Answer 3

unconscious
motor memory
striatum & cerebellum

Question 4

semantic memory

Answer 4

facts

Question 5

episodic memory

Answer 5

events

your life story

Question 6

cognitive psych model of memory

Answer 6

1. immediate memory: neurons firing based on whatever is happening in environment, lasts less than 1 second
2. short term memory: based on what you give attention to, can last seconds to minutes with rehearsal of info
3. long term memory: transferred from short term memory, remodeled via strengthening of synaptic connections, last hours to years

Question 7

what is working memory

Answer 7

in clinical model

immediate + short term memory from other model

Question 8

clinical model of memory

Answer 8

1. working memory: stored diffusely in cortex, maintained via rehearsal rapidly lost
2. short term memory: memories that are being transferred from working to long term, located in limbic circuits
3. long term memory: stored diffusely in cortex, maintained via remodeling (just like cognitive psych model), slowly lost unless there is cortical damage

Question 9

preferential storage of memories

Answer 9

based on importance

Question 10

how are working memories formed and stored

Answer 10

based on attention: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
retention of info for seconds to minutes
neocortical “reverberating circuit”
directly related to intactness of cortical neurons and synapses

Question 11

how are long term memories formed and stored

Answer 11

limbic circuits initiate retention of a memory
retention of info for hours to years
relatively few errors until 25% or more of the cortex has been damaged
based on synaptic remodeling
-long term potentiation
-NMDA receptor

Question 12

components of memory consolidation process

Answer 12

active remembering
further long term potentiation
new synapses formed
new neurons (least important)

Question 13

long term depression of memories

Answer 13

if you don’t continue to think about something, you are no longer using the synaptic connections
will eventually degrade

Question 14

memory circuit of papez

Answer 14

1. hippocampus
2. fornix (c-shaped white fiber bundle)
3. mammillary bodies of hypothalamus
4. anterior nucleus of thalamus
5. internal capsule
6. cingulate gyrus
7. cingulum
8. hippocampus

Question 15

what is the significance of memory processing taking place in the limbic system structures

Answer 15

emotional area

you are more likely to remember emotional events

Question 16

how do you disrupt short term memory

Answer 16

bilateral damage to the memory circuits

midline lesion or diffuse lesion

Question 17

how to assess working memory (attention)

Answer 17

digit span- immediate recall (7 normal)
5-7 unrelated words or numbers
repeating a brief story

Question 18

how to assess short term memory (transfer to long term)

Answer 18

orientation to time and place

remember a word list for 3 min

Question 19

how to assess long term memory

Answer 19

fund of information- long term recall

past presidents, significant dates, etc.

Question 20

delirium

Answer 20

acute global brain failure

NOT just memory affected

Question 21

amnestic syndromes

Answer 21

usually a component of a condition causing global cognitive problems
less commonly isolated

Question 22

midline lesions that can cause an isolated amnestic syndrome

Answer 22

thalamic
large frontal meningioma
basilar occlusion

Question 23

diffuse lesions that can cause isolated amnestic syndrome

Answer 23

thiamine deficiency
anoxia
trauma

Question 24

manifestations of isolated amnestic syndrome

Answer 24

short term memory is gone (disoriented)
language normal
construction normal
alert, attentive
long term normal

Question 25

what is Hollywood amnesia

Answer 25

severe long term memory deficits with preserved short term memory
lesion cannot do this, you’d have to knock out a ton of the cortex to destroy all long term memories, thus you’d see other manifestations of neuro dysfunction
this is psychogenic

Question 26

what is subjective cognitive impairment

Answer 26

forget specific dates and names, but can remember what they forgot
accurately track ongoing events
memory deficit inconsistent (name forgotten yesterday, but remembered today)
remote memories forgotten more often than recent
no impairment in social/occupational functioning
normal exam

Question 27

risk of SCI progressing

Answer 27

low

Question 28

mild cognitive impairment

Answer 28

objective short term memory issues

higher likelihood of progression to dementia than SCI

Question 29

impact of Alzheimer’s on memory

Answer 29

both short and long term memory affected

early: short term due to pathology in the hippocampus
late: neo-cortical damage, long term memories lost

Question 30

anterograde memory loss

Answer 30

failure to form NEW retrievable memory

short term deficit

Question 31

retrograde memory loss

Answer 31

failure to retrieve formerly learned information

Question 32

memory gap

Answer 32

span of retrograde and anterograde amnesia around the incident
tends to shrink over time but will eventually reach a stable size

Question 33

why do you get retrograde memory loss after trauma

Answer 33

don’t have time to consolidate memories after making them due to brain injury
at a certain point, cant retrieve them

Question 34

Wernicke/Korsakoff

Answer 34

metabolic etiology
acute untreated or chronic thiamine deficiency
persistent lesions of
-dorsal medial thalamic nuclei
-mammillary bodies

Question 35

korsakoffs psychosis

Answer 35

little or no acquisition of new information
impaired retrieval of old, historical memory
confabulation