C5. P6 Flashcards
Which part of the brain is most “central” to our working memory?
Prefrontal cortex
What role does the hippocampus play in memory?
Integrates present information with past information. It more involved in forming and consolidating explicit memories
What is the hippocampus?
A limbic system structure that extends into the brain’s temporal lobe and is highly involved in encoding explicit memories
What are two important things about the hippocampus?
1) Responsible for encoding new explicit memories into long term memories
2) Not the primary structure in the brain for accessing explicit memories from long term memory
What is the left hippocampus involved in?
The formation of explicit, declarative memories for factual information, episodes, and our personal autobiography
What is the right hippocampus involved it?
More involved with remembering spatial coordinates and locations
In the hippocampus, is the part that is involved in world learning the same for spatial locations?
No, word learning differs from the part that helps us form memories for spatial locations
What is memory consolidation?
The strengthening and modification of memories in long-term memory
What is the difference between encoding and consolidation?
Encoding takes the memories to long term memory, while consolidation only strengthens those memories
What does consolidation of memory do?
1) Tends to make the memory easier to retrieve in the future
2) Modify or update memories
What is the theory behind the hippocampus involvement of long term memory?
The theory is that the hippocampus somehow transfers information to other parts of the brain where it is consolidated into long-term memory
When does consolidation occur?
When asleep
What three structures are involved in implicit memory formation?
Hippocampus, cerebellum, and basal ganglia
What roles does the hippocampus play in implicit memory?
1) Automatic encoding of memories for time, space, and frequency
2) We do not consciously intend to retain this information, but it is there for retrieval
What is the basal ganglia?
A subcortical structure in the brain that interacts with the brainstem and hindbrain structures
What role does the basal ganglion play in implicit memory?
It’s involved, our ability to learn to associate things
Which parts of the brain are most involved in associative procedural memory?
Basal Ganglia and cerebellum
What happens with people who have damaged basal ganglia?
Patients with damaged to the basal ganglia networks show difficulty in learning new motor skills
What is the cerebellum?
The hindbrain structure behind the brain stem that is heavily involved in movement, balance, and procedural learning
What role does the cerebellum play in procedural memory?
It’s most important for timing and executing well-learned movements and procedures
What happens as procedural memory gets more and more managed by the cerebellum?
It becomes more automatic and requires less and less attentional resources from working memory
What structure hosts the most neural connections devoted to memories?
Prefrontal cortex
Which part of the brain is rich with association areas?
Cortex
Where can the neural connections that form our memory be found?
Association areas
What did Karl Lashley study?
Rats and their ability to form long-term memories through a maze.
What is synaptic sprouting?
The creation of new or additional connections between neurons through the creation of new axon terminals, dendrite receptors, or both
What three ways can synaptic sprouting occur?
1) A sending neuron sprouts more axon terminals, so it is better able to send messages
2) A receiving neuron spreads dendrites, so it is better able to receive messages
3) Both
What is Long term potentiation?
An increase in the signal strengths of synaptic connections
Which process focuses on axon building, and which focuses on chemical communication?
Sprouting involves the axons and dendrites, long term potentiation involves chemicals
What three ways can long term potentiation occur?
1) Sending neuron releases more neurotransmitters
2) Receiving neuron becomes more sensitive
3) Both
What did Pitman do in his experiment?
People who had trauma were given pills that helped with stress disorder. Was presumed to be the result of less CREB protein for producing memories of the event
Who said “neurons that fire together wire together”.
Hebb
Is sprouting and long term potentiation mutually exclusive?
No
Define serotonin.
A neurotransmitter that is heavily implicated in mood, arousal, and long-term memory encoding
According to the video, which two researchers most helped outline the processes involved in long-term potentiation?
Hebb and Kandel
In addition to working with sea slugs, Kandel’s research showed which process can become active due to long-term memory formation?
Neurogenesis
Who worked on aplysia?
Kandel and Schwartz
Summarize the aplysia studies.
When shocked it takes defensive action. Aplysia would feel the water, then immediately feel the shock scientists simply sprayed. Aplysia experienced the spray with water and did not deliver a shock
What is a flashbulb memory?
A clear and vivid memory for an emotionally arousing experience or event
What three mechanisms form consolidation of flashbulb memories?
Stress hormones, amygdala activity, and CREB protein
How do stress hormones contribute to the formation of flashbulbs memories?
Glucose provides the energy and resources that can be used to sprout new synapses or to promote long-term potentiation
How does contribute to the formation of flashbulbs memories?
When a thought or event triggers a lot of emotion and activity in the amygdala, this increased activity increases the odds that the event or thought will be “tagged” for later transfer into long-term memory
How does CREB Protein contribute to the formation of flashbulbs memories?
Events that activate the amygdala are also more likely to result in the creation of more “raw materials”
