Ch 12 Definitions: Learning and Memory Flashcards
reflex
an involuntary response to a stimulus
fixed action pattern
(also known as instinct)
a stereotyped pattern of behavior elicited by particular environmental stimuli
learning
a relatively permanent change in behavior or the capacity for behavior due to experience
nonassociative learning
a type of learning that involves a change in the magnitude of responses to stimuli rather than the formation of connections between elements or events
habituation
a type of learning in which the response to a repeated, harmless stimulus becomes progressively weaker
sensitization
a type of learning in which the experience of one stimulus heightens response to subsequent stimuli
classic conditioning
a type of associative learning in which neutral stimulus acquires the ability to signal the occurrence of a second, biologically significant event
conditioned stimulus (CS)
in classical conditioning, an initially neutral event that takes on the ability to signal other biologically significant events
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
in classical conditioning, an event that elicits a response without prior experience
conditioned response (CR)
in classical conditioning, a learned reaction to the conditioned stimulus
unconditioned response (UCR)
in classical conditioning, a spontaneous unlearned reaction to a stimulus without prior experience
operant conditioning
learning that links behavior with its consequences, producing change in the subsequent frequency of the behavior
information processing models
theories of memory that seek to explain the management of information by the brain, from detection to storage to retrieval
sensory memory
an initial stage in memory formation in which large amounts of data can be held for very short periods of time
short-term memory
an intermediate memory store in which limited amounts of data can be held for a limited amount of time;
without further processing, such information is permanently lost
long-term memory
a memory store in which apparently unlimited amounts of data can be held for an unlimited amount of time
declarative memory
an explicit memory for semantic or episodic information that can easily be verbalized, or “declared”
nondeclarative memory
an implicit memory that is only accessed unconsciously and automatically
semantic memory
a type of declarative, explicit memory for facts and verbal information
episodic memory
a type of declarative, explicit memorial for personal experience
procedural memory
a type of implicit memory for performing learned skills and tasks
anterograde amnesia
memory loss for information processed following damage to the brain
Aplysia californica
an invertebrate sea slug frequently used as a subject of experiments on learning and memory
gill-withdrawal reflex
in Aplysia, a protective reflex in which the gill is retracted in response to touch
parahippocampal cortex
an area of cortex ventral to the hippocampus
rhinal cortex
an area of cortex ventral to the hippocampus
entorhinal cortex
a subdivision of the rhinal cortex
perirhinal cortex
a subdivision of the rhinal cortex
fornix
a pathway carrying information from the hippocampus to the hypothalamus
Ammon’s horn
one of two major layers of neurons found in the hippocampus
dentate gyrus
one of two major layers of neurons found in the hippocampus
perforant pathway
a pathway made up of axons originating in the rhinal cortex that form synapses in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus
mossy fiber (hippocampus)
an axon from the dentate gyrus that synapses on cells found in CA3 of Ammon’s horn
Schaffer collateral pathway
a pathway connecting CA3 to CA1 in Ammon’s horn
long-term potentiation (LTP)
a type of synaptic plasticity in which the application of a rapid series of electrical shocks to an input pathway increases the postsynaptic potentials recorded in target neurons
associativity
a condition believed necessary for learning in which the pre- and postsynaptic neurons are nearly simultaneously active
cooperativity
a condition for the formation of LTP in which several synapses onto the target postsynaptic neuron must be simultaneously active
protein kinase M zeta
an enzyme believed to support maintenance of a memory trace
Consolidation
the process of making memory traces more stable
Transcription
the process of making an RNA version out of a segment of DNA
Translation
the process of synthesizing a protein based on the information carried by a molecule of RNA
transcription factor
a chemical that controls gene expression
CREB
a protein that activates genes that might be responsible for structural changes associated with long-term memory
C/EBPbeta
a substance activated by CREB that in turn activates genes related to synaptic growth
engram
a physical memory trace in the brain
nictitating membrane
an additional, movable inner eyelid found in some birds, fish, and mammals
but not in humans
interpositus nucleus
a cerebellar nucleus thought to be essential to classical conditioning in vertebrates
Purkinje cell
a cell in the cerebellum that influences the structure’s activity by forming inhibitory synapses with the output cells in the deep cerebellar nuclei
climbing fiber
a fiber originating in the inferior olive of the brainstem that forms synapses on the large Perkinje cells of the cerebellar cortex
parallel fiber
a fiber originating in the granule cells of the cerebellum that synapses on the Perkinje cells
granule cell
a cell within the cerebellum that is the source of parallel fibers
mossy fiber (cerebellum)
a fiber connecting a neuron in the pons to the granule cells of the cerebellum
long-term depression
a type of synaptic plasticity in which postsynaptic potentials in target cells is reduced
extinction
in classical conditioning, the reduction in conditioned responding that follows exposure to the conditioned stimulus alone, without unconditioned stimulus
delayed nonmatching to sample (DNMS) task
a standard test of memory in which the subject must identify the novel member of a stimulus pair following a delay
