Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Brain and Behaviour > Chapter 12 - Biology of Learning & Memory > Flashcards

Chapter 12 - Biology of Learning & Memory Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
The Brain flashcards
1
Q

What is instrumental conditioning?

A

Classical conditioning - Pavlov - reward and punishment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What did Thompson do?

A

Rabbit and puff of air

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What part of the brain is essential for learning?

A

Nucleus of the cerebellum. Is called the lateral interpositus nucleus (LIP). Cerebellum only useful for learning if the onset of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is short.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Why do emotional memories form quickly?

A

Due to epinephrine and cortisol that activates the amygdala and hippocampus.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Why is the hippocampus important?

A

It is important for forming and retrieving memories.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What did HM have?

A

Hippocampal damage and anterograde and retrograde amnesia. HM could not describe any experience he had after his surgery.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What happened to KC?

A

Motorbike accident - lost episodic memories but semantic memories intact. Better implicit memory and intact procedural and working memory.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What types of memories in the hippocampus important for?

A

Declarative and episodic memories. It is also involved in spatial memories. Contextual memories are associated with the hippocampus.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?

A

Brain damage caused by prolonged thiamine deficiency. Affects the dorsomedial thalamus which is the main source of input for the PFC. Symptoms include apathy, confusion, memory loss and impairment of episodic memories. Patients confabulate - fill memory gaps with guesses.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is Alzheimer’s?

A

Better procedural than declarative memories. Protein amyloid accumulates inside and outside neurons. Damages dendritic spines, decreasing synaptic input and plasticity. Damaged structures gather into plaques and cerebral cortex and hippocampus atrophy. High levels of amyloid cause more phosphate groups to attach to tau proteins. Tau can’t bind to axons so it gets inside cell body and dendrites causing damage called tangles.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How does the basal ganglia impact on memory?

A

Integrates information over many trials and forms habits.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What does the parietal lobe do?

A

It is involved with associating one piece with another.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What does the anterior temporal cortex do?

A

Semantic dementia.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What role does the PFC play?

A

associated with inhibiting inappropriate responses and shifting to other behaviours.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What does the ventral PFC do?

A

Important for learning about rewards and punishments.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What did Hebb find?

A

An axon that has successfully stimulated cell B in the past becomes more successful in the future.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is a Hebbian synapse?

A

A synapse that increases in effectiveness because of simultaneous activity in the pre- and post-synaptic neurons.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is longer-term potentiation?

A

One or more axons connected to a dendrite bombard it with a rapid series of stimuli. The burst of intense stimulation leaves some of the synapses potentiated (more responsive to new input of the same type) for minutes, days or weeks.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What are the properties of long-term potentiation?

A

Specificity - is some synapse are active only the active ones are strengthened.
Cooperativity - nearly simultaneous stimulation produces LTP much more strongly
Associativity - pairing a weak input with a strong input enhances later response to the weak input.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What neurotransmitters are associated with long-term potentiation?

A

It depends on changes at the glutamate synapses. The AMPA receptor is excited by glutamate but also responds to AMPA. NMDA receptor also responds to glutamate and NMDA. Both are ionotropic receptors. AMPA opens sodium channels. NMDA receptor response to glutamate depends on the degree of polarisation across the membrane. When glutamate attaches to a NMDA receptor whilst at resting potential, ion channels are usually blocked by magnesium that cannot fit through. NMDA channel permits ions through when it is depolarised, decreasing the negative charge that attracts the positive magnesium. When the channel is open , sodium and calcium enters. Calcium is key to LTP.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Why is calcium important for LTP?

A

It activates a protein called CaMKII. It sets a series of reactions leading to the release of CREB. CREB goes to the nucleus of the cell and regulates the expression of several genes. An example of epigenetic change. CaMKII remains at the synapses and is responsible for the specificity aspect. Neurons that are repeatedly activated will undergo LTP: dendrite builds more AMPA receptors; dendrite makes more branches or spines forming additional synapses with the same axon; phosphate groups attach to certain AMPA receptors making them more responsive or the neuron makes more NMDA receptors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Amyloid is to ____, as tau is to ____.

A

plaques, tangles

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Anterograde amnesia is to ____ as retrograde amnesia is to ____.

A

storing new memories; memories of the past

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Altered tau protein cannot bind to its usual targets within axons, and so it ____.

A

starts spreading into the cell body and dendrites

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

In operant conditioning, an individual’s response leads to a reinforcer or punishment. True or False?

A

True

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

A disorder most often associated with damage to the dorsomedial thalamus and mamillary bodies is:

A

Korsakoff’s syndrome

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

H.M. was unable to form any kind of new memories after his surgery.

A

False - he could form procedural memories

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

A peculiarity of the memory of the neurological patient H.M. was that he was able to:

A

retain new skills but not remember having learned them.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

When glutamate massively stimulates AMPA receptors, the resulting depolarization:

A

enables glutamate to stimulate nearby NMDA receptors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

The UCR and the CR are always the same. T or F

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Under most conditions, NMDA receptors do NOT respond to their neurotransmitter because:

A

magnesium ions block the passage of calcium through the receptor’s channel.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Short-term memory may be characterized as:

A

Having a limited capacity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Forgetting events prior to the time of brain damage is a characteristic of ____ amnesia.

A

Retrograde

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Punishment makes it less likely for a behavior to occur again in the future.

A

True

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

In his search for the engram, Lashley was testing:

A

Pavlov’s view of classical conditioning.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Lashley’s term “engram” refers to:

A

the physical representation of learning.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

A distinctive symptom of Korsakoff’s syndrome is:

A

Confabulation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

In Pavlov’s experiments he presented a sound followed by meat. Gradually the sound came to elicit salivation. The sound in this experiment would be considered the:

A

Conditioned stimuli

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Alzheimer’s patients have better explicit memory than implicit memory.

A

False

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

In studies that paired a tone with an air puff to the cornea of rabbits, learning was found to depend on one nucleus of the:

A

Cerebellum

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

A rat with hippocampal damage has difficulty with the Morris search task because it:

A

has difficulty remembering where the platform is from trial to trial.

42
Q

In operant conditioning, punishment is:

A

an event that decreases the future probability of a response.

43
Q

Operant conditioning is to ____ as classical conditioning is to ____.

A

consequences, association

44
Q

Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus that is presented repeatedly and accompanied by no change in other stimuli

A

True

45
Q

Alzheimer’s leads to the accumulation of ____ in the brain.

A

Amyloid deposits

46
Q

The NMDA receptor responds to its transmitters when:

A

the membrane is already at least partly depolarized.

47
Q

As with Korsakoff’s patients, Alzheimer’s patients have impairments in ____ memory, but are relatively unimpaired in ____ memory.

A

declarative, procedural

48
Q

What is known to be critical for long-term potentiation?

A

A massive inflow of calcium

49
Q

After LTP is established, NMDA receptors are not required to maintain it. T or F

A

True

50
Q

Karl Lashley called the physical basis of learning a(n):

A

Engram

51
Q

In operant conditioning, reinforcement is:

A

an event that increases the future probability of a response.

52
Q

Procedural memory is to ____ as declarative memory is to ____.

A

juggling; explaining the sequence of moves in juggling

53
Q

Confusing a made-up answer as a memory of an actual experience is referred to as:

A

Confabulation

54
Q

A long-term depression (LTD) in a neuron is a decreased response at synapses that occurs when:

A

Axons fire slowly.

55
Q

A possible treatment for Alzheimer’s is the administration of drugs that:

A

stimulate acetylcholine receptors.

56
Q

After his surgery, H.M. had the most difficulty with:

A

Being able to define new English words.

57
Q

Hippocampal damage has the greatest effect on:

A

the delayed match-to-sample task when the two objects are continuously changed.

58
Q

Lashley’s conclusions from his engram research were based on certain unnecessary assumptions, which later psychologists have discarded. One of those assumptions was that the:

A

cerebral cortex is the best or only place to search for an engram.

59
Q

Research on Aplysia shows us that at least one physiological basis for learning involves which of the following?

A

presynaptic changes

60
Q

In Pavlov’s experiments, he presented a sound followed by meat. Gradually the sound came to elicit salivation. The meat in this experiment was the:

A

Unconditioned stimulus

61
Q

The most enduring forms of LTP depend on changes in the:

A

pre and postsynaptic neurons.

62
Q

Thompson found a localised engram, whereas Lashley did not. What key differences in procedures or assumptions were probably responsible for their different responses?

A

Thompson studied a different, simpler type of learning. Also, he looked in the cerebellum instead of the cerebral cortex.

63
Q

What evidence indicates that the red nucleus is necessary for performance of a conditioned response but not for learning the response?

A

If the red nucleus is inactivated during training, the animal makes no conditioned response during the training, so the red nucleus is necessary for the response. However, as soon as the red nucleus recovers, the animal can show conditioned responses at once, without any further training, so learning occurred while the red nucleus was inactivated.

64
Q

How do epinephrine and cortisol enhance memory storage?

A

Epinephrine and cortisol both enhance emotional memories by stimulating the amygdala and hippocampus.

65
Q

What is a way to test working memory in both humans and nonhumans?

A

The delayed-response task, in which an individual sees a stimulus briefly and responds to it after a delay.

66
Q

What types of memory were most impaired in H. M. and people with similar types of amnesia.

A

H.M. had severe anterograde amnesia (difficulty forming new long-term memories) and a severe loss of episodic memories.

67
Q

Which types of memories were least impacted in H. M. and people with similar types of amnesia?

A

H. M. had nearly intact working memory, implicit memory, and procedural memory.

68
Q

What type of memory do the radial maze and the Morris water maze test?

A

They test spatial memory.

69
Q

According to the context hypothesis, why does hippocampal damage impair recent memories more than distant memories?

A

Recent memories include details of context, and the hippocampus is essential for memory of context. Most old memories include only the gist of the event and the hippocampus is less important for memories of that type.

70
Q

On what kind of question is someone with Korsakoff’s syndrome most likely to confabulate.

A

Patients with Korsakoff’s syndrome confabulate on questions for which they would expect to know the answer, such as questions about themselves. Their confabulations are usually statements that were true at one time.

71
Q

Which type of memory is generally least impaired for people with Alzheimer’s disease?

A

Procedural memory is generally the least impaired.

72
Q

When you first learned to drive a car, you had to carefully think about everything you did. After much practice, your movements became smooth and automatic. What does this observation imply about the brain mechanisms of learning?

A

In the initial learning, you were relying on declarative knowledge that depends on the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Later you gradually developed motor habits that depend on the basal ganglia.

73
Q

The basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex contribute to learning a response based on rewards and punishments. How do these areas differ?

A

The prefrontal cortex learns faster and bases its decisions on the most recent events.

74
Q

What evidence led Lashley to draw his conclusions of equipotentiality and mass action?

A

Impairment of learning depended on the amount of cortical damage rather than the location.

75
Q

What happened when Thompson temporarily inactivated the lateral interpositus nucleus of a rabbit’s cerebellum during learning?

A

The rabbit showed no response during training, and after the lateral interpositus nucleus recovered, the rabbit learned at the same pace as a rabbit with no previous training.

76
Q

What happened when Thompson temporarily inactivated the red nucleus during learning?

A

The rabbit showed no response during training but showed evidence of learning as soon as the red nucleus recovered.

77
Q

Which of the following is an example of why the original idea of short-term and long-term memory is no longer considered adequate?

a) Memory consolidation depends on more than just the time necessary to synthesize proteins.
b) Short-term memory can hold as much information as long-term memory.
c) Short-term memories are never really forgotten.
d) Most emotional memories are quickly forgotten.

A

a) Memory consolidation depends on more than just the time necessary to synthesize proteins.

78
Q

During visual working memory, which brain area synchronises its activity with that of the other areas of the cerebral cortex?

A

Prefrontal cortex

79
Q

Anterograde amnesia is loss of memory for ________, whereas retrograde amnesia is loss of memory for ______.

A

events after the damage; events before the damage.

80
Q

Research on amnesia suggests what explanation for the usefulness of episodic memory?

A

Episodic memories help us plan for the future.

81
Q

Suppose a rat is in a radial maze in which six arms have food once per day, and two other arms never have food. What kind of mistake does a rat with hippocampal damage make?

A

It enters one arm more than once before trying all other arms.

82
Q

When researchers implanted electrodes into a person’s hippocampus, they found cells sensitive to what?

A

Location

83
Q

The basal ganglia are primarily responsible for what kind of learning?

A

Gradually learning habits, based on immediate feedback.

84
Q

Which of the following would probably prevent most cases of Korsakoff’s syndrome?

A

Require all alcoholic beverages to be fortified with vitamins.

85
Q

What is the relation of genetics to Alzheimer’s disease?

A

Identified genes have a strong effect on early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and a weaker effect on late-effect on late onset disease.

86
Q

What brain area records the expected gains and losses associated with possible actions?

A

Ventral prefrontal cortex

87
Q

How does the obitofrontal cortex contribute to decision making?

A

It responds to how a reward compares to other possible outcomes.

88
Q

How can a Hebbian synapse account for the basic phenomena of classical conditioning?

A

In a Hebbian synapse, pairing the activity of a weaker (CS) axon with a stronger (UCS) axon produces an action potential, and in the process strengthens the response of the cell to the CS axon. On trials, it will produce a bigger depolaristaion of the postsynaptic cell, which we can regard as a conditioned response.

89
Q

When serotonin blocks potassium channels on the presynaptic terminal, what is the effect on transmission?

A

Blocking potassium channels prolongs the action potential and therefore prolongs the release of neurotransmitters, producing an increased response.

90
Q

Before LTP: In the normal state, what is the effect of glutamate at the AMPA receptors? At the NMDA receptors?

A

Before LTP, glutamate stimulates AMPA receptors but usually has the little effect at NMDA receptors because magnesium blocks them.

91
Q

During the formation of LTP, when a burst of intense stimulation releases much more glutamate than usual at two or more incoming axons, what is the effect of the glutamate at the AMPA receptors? At the NMDA receptors?

A

The massive glutamate input strongly stimulates AMPA receptors, thus depolarising the dendrite. This depolarisation enables glutamate to excite the NMDA receptors also.

92
Q

After the neuron has gone through LTP, what is no the effect of glutamate at the AMPA receptors? At the NMDA receptors?

A

After LTP has been established, glutamate stimulates the AMPA receptors more than before, mainly because of an increased number of AMPA receptors. At the NMDA receptors, it is again usually ineffective.

93
Q

Researchers have found several ways of improving memories in rodents, including genetic modification. Why do we not apply these methods to humans?

A

So far, every such method comes with disadvantages. Although improving function in one way, it causes problems in antoher.

94
Q

Suppose axon A weakly excites cell C, and axon B strongly excites it. If these are Hebbian synapses, under what circumstances will axon A’s synapses be strengthened?

A

If axon A’s synapse and axon B’s synapse are active at the same time.

95
Q

Why is Aplysia an appealing animal for studies of the physiology of learning?

A

It has relatively few neurons, and they are the same from one individual to another.

96
Q

What is meant by the ‘specificity’ of LTP?

A

LTP occurs only at they synapses that have been activated.

97
Q

What is the difference between AMPA receptors and NMDA receptors?

A

Although both respond to glutamate, different drugs activate them.

98
Q

During the formation of LTP, which ions enter at the NMDA receptors?

A

Calcium and sodium.

99
Q

What does CaMKII do?

A

It releases a protein that changes the expression of several genes.

100
Q

At this point, what type of drug or chemical is most clearly shown to improve memory without unacceptable side effects?

A

Caffeine and other stimulants

Brain and Behaviour (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions